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/dionysiusijlonginus 

O N T H £ 



t^ * 




SUBLIME: 

l^ranflated from the G r £ £ k,. with 

Notes and Observations, 



AND 



Some Account of the Life, Wr i t i n gs, 
and Character of the Author. 



j?y WILLIAM SMITH, -^.M 

Redor of Tr i n i t y in Chejler. 



Thee, gnat Longinus! all the Nine infpire^ 

And fill their critic with a poefs fircy 

An ardent judge ^ who^ zealous in his trujij 

With warmth gives fentenctj and is always jujii 

Whofe own example Jirengthens all his laws, 

And is bimfelf the great Sublime he draws. Mr. P o P i. 



The Th ird Edition^ Correfted and Improved, 



'mmmm^ 



LONDON: 

Printed for B. Do at the Bible and Kg vaAve-MaryLane 

near Stationers-ball. 



M Dec LII. 



V r 



*\ 







To the Right Ktsiounble 



G E O R G E 

MARL o[ MACCLESFIELD, 

Vifcmta Parker o/"Ewelme, and 
Barm Parker of Macclesfield. 



MY LORD, 

|HE greateft degree 
of purity and fplen- 
dor united) that 
LoNGiNus has for 
fome ages appeared in, was 
A 3 under 




DEDICATION. 

undei* the patronage of the 
late^ord Macci^esfield. 
Aji^pter o£;fo much fpirit 



and jiidgm^tv had a". juft 



claim to the proteftion of fo 
elevated a geniusj and fo ju- 
dicious an eiicoufager of po- 
lite learning. Longinus is now 
going to^ appear in aii Engll 
drefs, and begs the fupport 
of Your Lordship's name. 
He has undergc)nfe iid farther 
ftlteratidtii thian what was ab- 



» . ■• 



folutely neceffary td riiake 



him Engtip. His fenfe is 
faithfully repfefented, but 
Whether this tiranflatidn has 

any 



i;> E l> I C A T I: O N. 

any of this original i|Hrit9 is 
a deciiioo peculiar only tQ 

n ■ t 

thofe, wbo can relift un^fr 
fei^ed gcandeur apd na^pml 
Sublimityj with the fame jixr 
dicious tafte, as Your Lord- 
fhip. 



* i • • 



It is needlefs to fiy any 
thing to YourLordfliifar about 
the other parts of this perfor- 
mance> fince they alone can 
plead , e£Fe<9:ually for them- 
felves. I went through this 
work, animated with a view 
of pleafing every body; and 
publifh itj in fome fear of 
pleafing none. Yet I lay hold 

A 4 with 



V 



Dedication. 

with pleafure on this oppor- 
tunity of paying my relpcdb 
to Your L0RDSHIP9 and 
giving this public proof? that 
I am? 



il^LoRD, 



Tbui^'lj^ifs 



r <-^ 

T 



• . I 



mofl ob$dien$ tind 



.' m . 



mofl buf^le.jfervami 



William Smith, 




PREFACE. 

iT 'Wf'ff, ivitbout doubt f he expeBedy 
that the render Jhould be made priiy 
i to the reafmSj ufan jwbicb ibis wort 
was undertatetif and it now made pub' 
Uc, T!be intrinfic beauty of the piece itfelf frft 
oUtfred me to the attempt j and a regard for the 
pltbUCf efiecially for tkofe who might be unable 
to read the original^ was the main inducement 
to its publication. 

The Treatife o» /j6^ S u b l i m e hadjleptfor 
feveral 4geSt ceveredupin the du/i of libraries^ 
till the middle of the fxt?enth century, thefirfi 
latin verfion by Gabriel dc Petra was printed 
fit QcncvsL in 1612. Sft the frji good tranfla- 
tiott ^ ft into any modern language was the 
Frcnqfa one of the famous Boilcau, whicb^ tho* 
not ahoayi faithful to the texty yet has an eU- 
gance and a ^ritt which few will ever be able 
to equalj much lefi tofurpafs. 

The preferU tra^fiation wasfnijbed» befttre I 
knev? of any prior attempt ta make Longinus 
fPeak. Ejiglifh. Tbefirfi tranjlatim of him I met 
•Ofitb, was publijhd by Mr. Welfted in 1724. 
Sut I was t^ery mucbfurprifedt upon a perufal^ 

to 



-^ 



PR E FACE. 

to find it tmly Boileau'j tranjlation mifreprefenfedy 
and mangled^ For every beauty is impair edy if 
not totally efface dy and every error (even down to 
thofe of the printer ) mofi injur ioujly preferred . 

I have finc^ accidentally met with two other 
Englifh verfions of this Treatije -, one by J. Hall 
iS^; London 1653 j the Hther without a name y 
Bat printed at Oxford in 1698, and faid in the 
title-page to haDe been compared with the French 
^Boileau, I faw nothing in either of thefcy 
which did not yield tht greateji encouragement to 
a new attempt. 

No lefs than nine years have intervened fince 
the finijhing of ibis tranjlationy in which Jpace 
it has been frequently revifed, fubniifted to the 
ienfure of friends y and amended again and again 
by a more attentive ftudy of the original. T^he 
defign wasy ifp^ffihky to make it read like an 
original: ivbethef 1 bavefucceededin thisy the 
bulk of my reader i may judge ; but whether the 
tranfiation be goody or come any thing near to the 
lifcy thejpirity the energy of LonpnuSy is a de^ 
cifion peculiar to men of learning and tajicy who 
alone know the difficulties which attend fuch an 
tindertakingy and will be impartial enough to 
give the Tranfiator the necejfary indulgence. 

Longinus himfelf was never accurately 
tnough publijhedy nor thoroughly underjloody till 

Dr. 



F 



s-' 



P R E F A C R 

* Dr. Pearce did him jufiice in his late editions 
at London. Mjf thanks are due to that gentleman^ 
fk)i only for bis correct editions ^ account of 
which the whole learned world is indebted to him ; 
hut for thofe animadverfons and correStions of 
this tranjlationy wiih which he fo kindly favoured 
i^. Mbfi of the fefMrks and t^bfervaiiohi ivera 
drdivn upy before I had ridd his L^tlh ftotesi 

lam not the leafi in pain ^ about the pertinency 

of thofe injiances which I have If r ought from the 

f acred writers^ as well asfromfome ifthefnejl 

of our own country j to illuftrate the efiticifrHs of 

Longinus. t am onty fedrfut^ Ufl hifioHg the 

pidtiplicity offucb as might be hady I may be 

thought to have otnitted Jhme of the beji. lam 

fehjible, thai what t bdve done, might be dbftt 

tnuch better ^ but if 1 have the good fortune to 

contribute a little^ towards the fixing a trueju^ 

Vicious tafie, and emMing my rmdm rt diftiip. 

guip fenfe from found, grandeur from pomp, and 

the Sublime from fujlidn and oombajl, I Jhall 

think my time well fpent ; and Jhall be ready tp 

fubmit to the cenfutes of d judge^ but Jhall only 

fmik at tbefnartiHg of ilvhat is tmiHoniy called 

a critic. 



• Now Lord Bilfcop of Bangor* 



INDEX 




INDEX 

.V 

Of the Sections in Longinus. 

SECT. I. 

THAT CeciliusV treatife on the Sublime is m- 
perfefff and why. Page i 

SECT. II. 
Whether the Sublime nu^ be learned. 5 

SECT. III. 

Of Bombaft. 8 

Of Puerilities. 12 

Of the Parenthyrfe, or ill-timed emotion, 13 

S E C T. LV. 
D/ /-&r Frigid. . 14 

, S E C T. V. 
Whence thefe imperfe^ions taJU their rife, . 18 

S E c T. vi. 

That a knowledge $f the true Sublime is attmnahk. 19 

S E C T. VIL 
How the Sublime mof be known. 20 

S E C T. VIII. 
That there are five four ces of the Sublime. 23 

S E C T. IX. 

Of Elevation of thought. zj 

SECT. X. 

ithat a choice and connexion of proper circumfiances will 
produce the Sublime. 49 

S E C T. XI. 
Of Amplification. 61 

SECT. XII. 

That the definition^ which the writers of rhetoric give 
of Amplification, // improper* 63 

SECT. 



INDEX 

SECT. XIIL 

Of PlatoV Suhlimty. n 65 

Of Imitation. 67 

SECT. XIV. 

fhat the lefi authors ought to be our models in writing. 

SECT. XV. 

Of Images. 74 

SECT. XVI. 

Cf Figures. 85 

SECT. XVII. 

7hat Figures and Sublimity mutually affift one another. 89 

SEC 7-. XVill. 
Of ^ejlion and Interrogation. 92 

SECT. XIX. 

Of Afyndstons. 95 

SEC T. XX. 

Of Heaps of Figures. 07 

SECT. XXI. ^^ 

That Copulatives weaken theftile. 99 

SECT. XXII. 

Of Hyper batons. < 10 1 

SECT. XXIII. 

Of Change of Number. 107 

SECT. xxiv. 
That Singulars fometimes caufe Sublimity. no 

SECT. XXV. 
Of Change of Tenfe. ■ ' 112 

SECT. XXVI. 

Of Change of Perfon. j i a 

SECT. XXVII. ' 

Of ''Hother Change of Perfon. 115 

SECT. XXVIII. 

Of t'sriphrt^ or Circumlocution. 119 

SECT. XXIX. 

^ .bat Circumlocution carried too far grows i^fyid. 1 8 9 

SECT. XXX. 

Cf Choice of terms. I2| 

SECT. 



I N D E X, 

SECT, JCXXJ. 
Of Vulgar terms. 1 2 

SECT. XXXIL 
Of Multitude of Metaphors. 12; 

SECT. XXXIII. 
^hat the Sublime with fome faults^ is better than wha 
is correct and fault lefs mthou/ hing Sublime. 1 3( 

SECT. XXXIV. 
By the preceding r«/? Demofthenes and Hyperides ar 
compared^ and the preference given to the former. 14c 

« E c T. xxxy. 

^ai Plato is in qll refpe^s fuperior to Lyfias ; am 
in general^ that whatever is great and upcoptmpp. 
fooneji raifes admiration. 145 

SECT. XXXVI. 
Sublime writers confiier^d i^ a parallel view. 147 

SECT. XXXVU. 
Of Similes and Comparifons. 151 

SECT. XXXVIII. 

Of HyperboUs. ibid. 

SECT. XXXIX. 

Of Compojition or JiruSure of words. 157 

SECT. XL. 

Of apt Connexion of the confiitumt parts of difcourfe. 1 62 

SECT. XLI. 
^at broken and precipitate mafures debafe the Sub- 
lime. 165 
^at Words of fbort Syllables are prejudicial to the 

Sublime. 1 66 

SECT. XLII. 

3tbat ContraSlion ofjlile dimini/hes the Sublime. 1 6y, 

SECT. XLIII. 
n>at low terms bUmifh the Sublime. ibid. 

SECT. XLIV. 
"fthe fcarcHy of fublinu writers accounted for. 172 

Index 




Index ^Authors 

Mea^xm^d by Longimif. 



A. 

ZC'Schylus, Page 79, 80 
Ammonius. 6^ 
Amphiciates. 
J^nacreon. 
ApoUonius. 
Aratus, ' 
Archilochius. 
Arimaipians, 

the Poem on the. 
Ariftophanes. 
Ariftode, 



XI 

125 
138 

59y 79 
Author of 

54 



163 
129 



iB. 



Bacchylides. 



^9 



C 



r^EcUius. 1,2,25,125, 

128,135 
Califthenes. 



Cicero, • 
Clicarchus, 

D. 

T^Emofthcnes. 



10 
64 
10 



7^59 
64* 7I^ 83> 85, 86, 
88, 91, 93, 98, 105, 
III, J 17, 128, 140, 

1489 l^i 






• . . E. 

Tf^Ratofthencs. 139 
*-^ Eupolis. '88 

Euripides. 76, 77, 78,' 
80,81,83, 164 

Geor^as the Leondne. 9 

H. 

fJEcataeus. 116 

Hegefias. 1 1 

Herodotus. 4, 69, 103, 

III, 114, 122, 127, 

154, 167 

Hefiod. 33, 70 

Homer. 17, 26, 31, 32, 

37,40,42,44,45,55, 

%» 7'» 77» 97> "4. 
117, 118; 137 

Hjrperides. 84, 141, 143 

I. 

To tbeOsam. 139,140 
Ifocrates. ^^^ 152 

L. 
Lyfws. 135, 135, 141. 

145 
Matris. 



I i^D 



E X. 



M. 



4» 



•"'•* Mofes. 

P. 

pHiliftus. 163 

Phrymcus. 11 1 

Pindar. 139 

Plato. 1 8, 64, Sgy 6^, 71, 

109, 121, i2z» 130, 

»3»» ^35* '36» J45» 

148 

S. 



Sunoiudes. 
Sc^hocles. 

Scefichorus* 



50 

82 

8i» 108, 

139, 140 

69 



THcocritus. -^ 138 
Thcodorus,,* 1 3 
Theophraftus. 129 

Theopompus. 13,16s 
Tkucydides« 71, 105, 

Timaeus. i4f i5> 17 

Xenophon. 17,969112, 
120, i3i>i7i 



.1 



Z. 



Zoilus» 



47 




Some 




Some Ac c o u w T of the 

Lifej Writings, and Chara6ter 

O F 

L N G I N U S. 



% 




^HERE is no part of hiAory 
1 more agreeable in itfelf, nor 
more improving to the mind, 
than the lives of thofe who 
I have diiUnguiihed themfelves 
from the hnd of mankind, and 
fet themfclves up to public regard. A parti- 
cular tribute of admiration is always due, and 
h generally paid to the Hero, the Philofopher, 
and the Scholar. It requires indeed a ftrcngth 
of underflanding and a folidity of judgment, 
to difttnguifh thofe anions, which axe truly 
great, from fuch as have only the ftiew and , 
appearance of it. The noiie of vidorles and 
the pomp of triumphs are apt to make sleeper 

B m- 



ii 7^^ Life and Writings 

imprcffions on common minds, than the calm 
and even labours of men of a ftudious and 
philofophical turn, tho* the latter are, for the 
inoft part, more commendable in themfelves 
and more ufeful to the world. The imagina- 
tion of the bulk of mankind is more alive than 
their judgment : hence Cafar is more admired 
for the part he a6led in the plains of Pharfaliaj i 
than for the recolleftion of his mind the night 
after the vidtory, by which he armed himfelf 
againft the infolence of fuccefs, and formed 
reiblutions of forgiving his enemies, and tri- 
umphing more by clemency and mildnefs, than 
he had before by his courage and his arms. 
Deeds which we can only admire, are not fo 
fit for fedate contemplation, as thofe which 
we may ajfo imitate. We may not be able to 
plan or execute a vidlory with the Scipios and 
GefdrSy but we toay improve and fortify our 
tmdcrftandings, by infpefting their fcenes of 
ftudy and reflexion ; we may apply the con- 
templations of the wife to private ufe, fo as to 
make our paifions obedient to our reafon, our 
reafon produdiivc of inwarcj; tranquillity, and 
fometimes of real and fubftantial advantage to 
all our fellow-creatures. 

Such remarks as. the preceding can be n 
improper Introduction to whatever may be a 

lefl 



^LONGINUS. ' 

Icded concerning the Life of our Author. It 
will turn gut at beft but dark and imperfeft, 
yet opens into two principal views, whigh 
may prove of double ufe to a thoughtful and 
confiderate reader. As a Writer of a refined 
and polifh'd tafte, of a found and penetrating 
judgment, it will lead him . to fuch methods 
of thinking, as are the innocent and embellifh- 
ing amufements of life ; as a Philofopber of en- 
larged and generoi;i$ fentiments, a friend to 
virtue, a fteddy champion, and an intrepid 
martyr for liberty, it will teach him, that no- 
thing can be great and glorious, which is not 
juft and good 5 and that the dignity of what 
we utter, and what we ad, depends entirely 
on the dignity of our thoughts, and the inward 
grandeur and elevation of the foul. 

Searching for the particular pafliges and in- 
cidents of the Life of Longinus, is like travel- 
ling now-a-days thro' thofe countries in which 
it was Jpent. We meet with nothing but con- 
tinual fcenes of devaflation and ruin. In one 
place, a beautiful fpot fmiling through the 
bounty of nature, yet over- run with weeds and 
thorns for want of culture, prefents itfelf tp 
view ', in another, a pile of flones lying in the 
fame confufion in which they fell, with here 
and there a »oddiog wall j and., fometimes a 

B a curious 



• • . 

Ill 



iv T^e Life and Writtngi 

curious pillar ftill credt, excites the forrowful 
remembrance of what noble edifices and how 
fine a city once crown'd the place. Tyrants 
and barbarians are not lefs pernicious to learn- 
ing and improvement, than to cities and na- 
tions. Bare names are prefcrved and handed 
down to us, but little more. Who were the 
deftroyers of all the reft, we know with re- 
gret, but the value of what is deftroyed, wc 
can only guefs and deplore. 
Suidas. What countryman Longinus was, cannot 
i;;p^^' certainly be difcovered. Some fancy him a 
Syrian^ and that he was born at Emifa^ bc- 
caufe an uncle of his, one Fronto a rhetorician, 
is called by Suidas an Emifenian. But others, 
with greater probability, fuppofe him an Atbe-- 
nian. Tha^ he was a Grecian^ is plain from 
"two * paflages in the following Treatife 5 in 
one of which he ufes this expreflion, Jf nve 
Grecians ; and in the other he exprefsly calls 
Demojibenes his countryman. His name was 
Dim^us Longinus^ to which Suidas makes 
the addition of CaJJius ; but that of his &ther 
is entirely unknown \ a point (it is true) ol 
fmall importance, fince a fon oif excellence 
and worth, refledls a glory upon, inftead of re- 
ceiving any firom, his father. By his mother 
Frontonis he was allied, after two or three re- 
• Stt &d^l. moves^ 



tf/^ L O N G I N U Sc- 

moves, to the celebrated Plutarch. We arc 
alfo at a lofs for the employment of his parents, 
their ftation in life, and the beginning of his 
education ; but a •f* Remnant of his own 
writings informs us, that his youth was fpent 
in travelling with them, which gave him an 
opportunity to increafe his knowledge, and 
open his mind with that generous enlargement, 
which men of fenfe and judgment will una- 
voidably receive, from variety, of objedls and 
diverfity of converfation. The improvement 
of his niind ..was always uppermofl in hiis 
thoughts, and his third after knowledge led 
him to thofe channels, by which it is convey'd. 
Wherever men of learning were to be found, 
he was prefent, and loft no opportunity of 
forming a funiliarity and intimacy with them. 
jimmonius and Origen^ philofophers of no fmall 
reputation in that age, were two of thofe, 
whom he vifited and heard with the greateft 
attention. As he was not deficient in vivacity 
of parts, quicknefs of apprchenfion, and 
ftrength of underftanding, the progrefs of his 
improvement muft needs have been equal to 
his induftry and diligence in feeking after it. 
He was capable of learning whatever he de- 
fired, and no doubt he defired to learn what- 
ever was commendable and ufefuL 

f Fragment, qmntum* B 3 Thc 



% 



viii The Life and Writings 

learning, eloquence, and philofophy united. 
Whilft he taught here, he had, amongfl 
% others, the, famous Porphyry for his pupil. The 
fyflem of philofophy, which he went upon, 
was the Academic i for whofc founder, Plat^^ 
he had fo gredt a veneration, that he celebrated 
the anniveriary of his birth with the higheft 
folcmnity. There is fomething agreeable evert 
in the diftant fancy; how delightful then 
muft thofe reflexions have been, which could 
not but arife in the breafl of LonginuSj that 
he was explaining and recommending the 
doiSrine of Plato in thofe calm retreats, 
where he himfelf had written; that he 
was teaching his fcholars the eloquence of 
I)emoJlbeneSy on the very fpot perhaps, where 
he had formerly thundered;' and was prb-» 
feffing Rhetoric in the place, where Cicero had 
ihidied ! 

The Mind of our Author was not fo Con- 
ti^^ed, as to be fit only for a life of ftillnefs 
and tranquillity. Fine genius, and a true phi- 
lofophic turn, qualify not only for fludy and 
retirement; but will enable their owners to 
fhine, I will not fay in more honoural>le, but 
in more confpicuous views, and to appear 
on the public flage of life with dignity and 
honour. And it was the fortune of Langinus 

to 



i/" L O N G I N u S. ix 

to be drawn from the contemplialive fbades of 
Atbensy to mix in more adtivie fcenes, to train 
up young princes to virtue and glory, to guide 
the bufy and ambitious pafiions of the gre^tt 
to noble ends, to ftruggle for, and at lafl: to 
die in the caufe of liberty, 

Duriig the refid^nce of Longims ^t jithem^TKhtmoM 
the emperor Valerian had undertaken an^®^^ 
ezpedidon againft the PerfianSi who had 
revolted from the Bflman yoke« He was 
aflifted in it by Odenatbu^. king of Pal-^ 
if^yrfi, who, after the death of Valerian^ car^ 
ried On the war with uncommon fpirit and 
fucceis, Gallienus^ who fucceeded his ik^ 
ther Valerian at Rome^ being a prince of a 
weak and effeminate foul, pf the moft dil^ 
iblute and abandoned manners, without any 
ihadow of worth- in «himfeli^ was. willing to 
get a fupport in the valour of Odenathusi 
and therefore he made him his - partner in 
empire by the title of Augujius^ and decreed 
his medals, ftruck in honour of the Perfiofi 
viAories, to be curirent coin throughout the 
Empire. Odenatbus^ fays an hiilorian, feemed 
born for %e empire of the world, and woul^ 
probably have rifen to it, had ^e not been 
taken off, in a career of vidory, by the 
treachery of his own relations. His abilities 

were 



73^ Life and Writings 

were fo great, and his actions fo illuflrious, 
that they were above the competition of every 
perfon then alive, except his own wife Ze^ 
nobiay a Lady of fo extraordinary magnanimity 
and virtue, that (he outjfhone even her huf* 
band, and engroffed the attention and admi« 
ration of the world. She was defcendfcd from 
the ancient race of Ptoleniy and Cleopatra^ 
and had all thofe qualifications, which are the 
ornament of her own, and the glory of th« 
other fex. A miracle of beauty, but chafte 
to a prodigy : in puni(hing the bad, inflexibly 
fevere ; in rewarding the good or relieving 
the diftrefled, benevolent and active. Splendid, 
but not profufe; and generous without pro^ 
digality. Superior to the toils and hardfliips 
of war, fhe was generally on horfeback ; and 
would fometimes march oh foot with hef 
foldiers. She was fkilled in feveral languages, 
and is faid to have drawn up herfelf an 
Epitome of the jilexandrian and Oriental 
hiflory* 

The great reputation of Longinus had been 
wafted to the ears of Zenobia^ who prevailed 
upon him to. quit Athens^ and und^ake the 
education of her fons. He quickly gained 
an uncommon ihare in her efleem, as fhe 
found him not only qualified to form thr 

tendei 



of L O N G I N U 8. Xi 

tender minds of the young, but to improve 
the virtue, and enlighten the underftanding of 
the aged. In his converfation (he fpent the 
vacant hours of her life, modelling her fen- 
timents by his infl:ru<5tions, and fteering her^ 
felf by his counfels in the whole feries of 
her coiAu£t ; and in carrying oh that plan of 
empire, v^hich fhe herfelf had formed, which 
her hufband Oden&thus had begun to execute, 
but had left impctfedt. The liumber of com- 
petitors, who, in the vicious and fcandalous 
reign of GalliermSy fet up for the empire, but 
with abilities "far inferior to thofe of Zenobia, 
gave her an opportunity to Extend her con-^ 
quefts, by an uncommon tide <tf fuccefs, ovct 
all the'Eaft. Claudius, who -fucceedcd Gal^ 

■ 

lienus at Rome, was employed during hii 
whole reign, which was Very fliiort, againft 
the Northern nations^ Their* redudion was 
afterwards compleafcd by Aureliatiy the greateft 
foldier that had for a long time worn the 
imperial purple. He then turned his arms 
againft Zenobiay being furprifed as well at the 
rapidity jpf her conquefts, as enraged that fhe 
had dared to affume the tide of ^een of 
the Eaji. 

He marched againft her with the beft ofvopifcus. 
his forces, and met with no check in his ex-^^"*"'- 

pedition. 



xH Tig Life and WriHngs 

pedition, till he was advanced as far as j^. 
tiocb. Zenobta was there in rradinefs to op<K 
pofe his further progrefs. But the armieSf< 
coining to an engagement at Daphne near. 
Antiocb^ (he was defeated by the good con- 
duct of Aurelian^ and leaving Jntiocb at hit 
mercy, retired with her army lo0 Emifa^ 
The emperor marched immediately after, and 
found her ready to give him battle in the 
plams before the City. The difpute was 
iharp and bloody on both iides, tUl at laft 
the vidory inclined a fecond time to AureUan ; 
and the unfortunate Zenobta^ not daring to 
confide in the Etnifeniansy was agam com- 
pelled to retire towards her capital. Palmyra. 
As the town was flrongly fortified, and the 
inhabitants full of zeal for her fervice, and 
affedlion for her perfbn ; fhe made no doubt 
of defending herfelf here, in fpite of the 
warmeft eflforts of AureUan^ till ihe could 
raiie new forces, and venture again into the 
open field. AureUan was not long behind, 
his a<5tivity impelled him forwards, to crown 
his former fuccefs, by compleating the con- 
queft of Zenobta. His march was^ terribly 
harrafied by the frequent attacks of the jSy- 
rian banditti^ and when he came up, he 
found Palmyra fo flrongly fortified and fc 

bravel) 



»/'LoNGiNus* xiii 

I bravely defended, that tho' he invefled it 

with his army, yet the fiege was attended 

^ with a thoufand difficulties. His army wsus 

I daily weakened and difpirited by the gallant 

■ refiftance of the Palmyrenians^ and his own 

life fometimes in the utmoft danger. Tired 

at laft with the obftinacy of the befieged^ 

and almoft worn out by continued fatigues^ 

he fent Zenobia a written fummons to furren- 

der, as if his words could ftrike terror into 

her, whom by force of arms he was unable 

to fubdue. 

■ 

Aurelian, emperor of the Roman worlds and 
recoverer of the Eafl, to Zenobia and her 
adherents. 



** Why am- 1 forced to command, what 
you ought voluntarily to have done already? 
I charge you to furrender, and thereby 
^oid the certain penalty of death, which 
otherwife attends you. You, Zenobia, 
fhall fpend the remainder of your life, 
where I, by the advice of the moft ho- 
nourable fenate, ihall think proper to place 
you. Your jewels, your filver, your gold^ 
your finefl apparel, your horfes, and your 
camels, you (hall refign to the difpofal of 

* " the 



<c 

€C 



■* 



xiv The Life and Writings 

the RonianSy in order to preferve the PaL^ 

myrenians from being divefted of all theii} 

^* former privileges/' 

Zetwbiay not in the ieaft affrighted by the 
menace, nor foothed by the cruel promife of 
a life in exile and obfcurity; refolved by 
her anfwer to convince Aurelian^ that he 
ihould find th^ ftouteft refinance from her^ 
whom be thought to frighten into compliance. 
This anfwer was drawn np by Longinus in a 
fpirit peculiar to himfelf, and worthy of hii 
miflrefs. 



Zenobia, tftieen of the Eaft, to the emperor 

Aurelian. 

*^ Never was fuch an unrebfmable demand 
** propofed, or fuch rigorous terms offered 
" by any, but yourfelf. Remember, Aurelian^ 
^^ that in war, whatever is done, ihould be 
*^ done by valour. You imperioufly command 
" me to furrender; but can you forget, that 
^^ Cleopatra chofe rather to die with the title 
" of Queen, than to live in any inferior dig- 
nity ? We expoQ; fuccours from Ferjia % - 
the Saracens are arming in our caufe ; even 
the Syrian banditti^ have already defeated 

your 



cc 

a 



€( 



of LO N G I N U S, X9' 

" your army. Judge what you arc to cx- 
^* pdO: from a conjunction of thefe forces. 
^* You fliall be compelled to abate that pride, 
** with which, as if you were abfolute lord 
** of the univerfe, you command me to be- 
" come your captive." 

AureliaUy fays Vopifcus^ had no fooncr read 
this difdainful letter , than he bluihed (not 
ib much with ihame, as) with indignation. 
He rodoubled his eBforts, invefled the town 
more clofely than ever, and kept it in conti- 
nual alarms. No art was left untried, which 
the condu<£t of a general could fuggefl, or 
the bravery of angry foldiers could put in exe- 
cution. He intercepted the aid, which was 
marching from Perfia to their relief. He 
reduced the Saracen and Armenian forces, 
cither by ftrength of arms, or the fubtilty of 
intrigues; till at length, the Palmy renians^ 
deprived of all profpeft of relief, and worn 
out by continual adaults from without, and by 
iamine within, were obliged to open the gates 
and receive their conqueror. The queen and 
Jjonginus could not tamely fray to put on their 
chains. Mounted on the fwiftefr caniels, they 
endeavoured to fly into Perjia^ to make frefli 
head againft Aarelian^ who, entering the city, 

was 



xvi Tl^e Life and Writings 

was vexed to find his victory imperfeft, and 
Zenobia yet unfubducd. A bcdy of the^ 
fwifteft horfc was immediately difpatchcd in 
purfuit, who overtook and made them prifo- 
ners as they were crofling the Euphrates. 
Zofimus. Aureliatiy after he had fettled 'Palmyra^ re- 
turned to Emifa, whither the captives were 
carried after him. He fat on his tribunal to 
receive Zenobia^ or rather to infult her. The 
Roman foldiers throng around her;, and de- 
mand her death with inceflant fhouts. ZenO'- 
bia now was no longer herfelfj the former 
greatnefs of her fpirit quite funk within her ; 
fhe owned a mafler, and pleaded for her Life. 
' Her counfellors (flic faid) were to be ' 
blamed, and not herfdf. What could a 
yreak fhort-fighted woman do, when befet 
' by artful and ambitious men, who made 
' her fubfervient to all their fchemes ? She 
'* never had aimed at empire, had they not 
placed it before her eyes in all its allure- 
ments. The letter which affronted Aure-^ 
'* liatiy was not her own; Longinus wrote itj 
* the infolence was his." This was no fooner 
heard, than Aurelian^ who was foldier enough 
to conquer, but not heroe enough to forgive, 
poured all his vengeanca^on the head of Lon-^ 
ginus. He was borne away to. immediate 

execu-v , 



»/*LoNGINU8. XVil 

execution, amidft the generous condolence 
of thofe, who knew his merit, and admired 
the inward generofity of his fouh He pitied 
Zenobiay aiid comforted his friends* He looked 
upon death as a blefling, fince it refcued his 
body from flavery^ and gave his foul the moft 
defirable freedom. " This world (faid he 
** with his expiring breath) is nothing but a 
" prifon J happy therefore he, who gets fooneft 
^* out of it, and gains his liberty.'* 

The writings of Longinus are numerous, 
fome on philofophical^ but the greateft part 
on critical fubjedls. Dr* Pearce has coUefted 
the titles of twenty-Jive Treatifes, none of 
which, except this on the Sublime^ have 
gfcaped from the depredations of time and 
barbarians. And even this is refcued as from 
I wreck, damaged too much and fhatter'd by 
die ftorm. Yet on this little and imperfedt 
piece has the fame of Longinus been founded 
md ereded. The learned and judicious have 
beftowed extraordinary commendation upon 
h The golden TCreatife is its general title. 
It is one of thofe valuable remnants of an- 
iquity, of which enough remains to engage 
>ur admiration, and excite an earneft regret 
br every particle of it that has perifhed. It 
'efembles tj^fe mutilated flatues^ which are 

C fome- 



Scviii 7%^ Life and Writings 

fometimes dug out of ruins. Limbs arc 
broke off, which it is not in the power of 
any living artift to replace, becaufe the fine 
proportion and delicate finiftiing of the trunk 
excludes all hope of equalling fuch mafterly 
performances. . From a conftant infpeftion artd 
clofe ftudy of fuch an antique firagment at 
'Rome^ Michael Angelo learned to execute and 
to teach the art of Sculpture ; it was therefore 
called Michael Angela's School. The fame ufc 
may be made of this imperfe6t "piece on the 
Sublime^ fince // is a noble fchool for Critics, 
Poets, Orators, and Hiftorians^ 

" The Sublime, fays Longinus^ is an image 
" refledled firom the inward greatnefs of the. 
** foul.'* The remark is refined and juft; and 
who more deferving than he of its applica- 
tion ? Let his fentiments be confidered as re- 
flexions from his own mind ; let this piec^ 
on the Sublime be regarded as the pifture of 
its author. It is pity we have not a larger 
portrait of him 5 but as that cannot be ha^ 
we muft take up at prefent with this incom- 
pleat, tho* beautiful miniature. The features 
are graceful, the air is noble, the coXonviag 
lively enough, to fhew how fine it was, and how 
many qualifications are neceflary to form the 
character of a Critic w4th dignity and applaufe. . 

Eleva^ 

k 



^ t. O N G I N tJ S* Xix 

Elevation of Thought, the greateft quali- 
fication rcquiiite to an Orator or Poet, is 
equally neceflary to a Critic, and is the moft 
ihining talent in Longinus. Nature had im- 
planted the feeds of it within him, which he 
himfclf improved and nurfed up to perfedlion, 
by an intimacy with the greateft and fublimeft 
writers. Whenever he has Homer in view, he 
catches his fire, and increafes the light and 
irdor of it, T'he /pace between heaven and 
earth marks out the extent of the Poet's ge- 
nius ; but the world itfelf feems too narrow a 
confinement for that of the Critic *. And tho' 
his thoughts are fometimes ftretched to an im« 
meafurable fize, yet they are always great with- 
out fwelling, bold without rafhnefs, far be- 
yond what any other could or durft have faidi 
and always proper and judicious. 

As his Sentiments are noble and lofty,, fo 
his Stile is mafterly, enlivened by variety, and • 
flexible with eafe. There is no beauty pointed 
put by him in any other, which he does not 
imitate, and fi-equently excel, whilft he is 
making Remarks upon it. How he admires 
and improves upon Horner^ has been hinted 
already. When 'Plato is his fubje<ft, the words 
glide along in zjmoothy and eafy^ and peaceable 
flow. When he fpeaks of Hyperides^ he copies 

» Sei Sea. IX. C 2 at 



XX 7%e Life and Writings 

at once his engaging manner, t\it JimpUcity.^ 
fweetncfs and harmony of his ftile. With De- 
mojihenes he is vehement^ abrupt^ and diforderly 
regular 'y he dazles with his lightning, and 
terrifies with his thunder. When he parallels 
the Greek with the Roman Orator, he (hews 
in two periods the diftinguifhing excellencies 
of each ; the firft is a very hurricane ^ which 
bears down all before it ; the lafi^ a confiagra^ 
tion^ gentle in its beginning, gradually dif- 
perfed, increafing and getting to fuch a head, 
as to rage beyond refiftance, and devour aH 
things. His Senfe is every where the very 
thing he would exprefs, and the Sound of his 
WQrds is an echo to his fenfe. 
, His Judgment Is exadt and impartial, both 

in whdt he blames and what he commends. 
The fentence he pronounces is founded upofl, 
and fupported by reafons, which are fetisfac- 
tory and juft. His approbation is not attended 
with fits of ftupid admiration, or gaping, like 
. an idiot, at fomething furprifing which he 
cannot comprehend 5 nor are his cenfures fret- 
ful and wafpifli. He ftings, like the bcc, 
what adually annoys him, but carries honey 
along with him, which, if it heals not the 
wound, yet aflliagcs the fmart. 

His 



^ L o N G I N u s, xxi 

His Candor is extenfive as his Judgment. 
The penetration of the one obliged him to 
reprove what was amifs ; the fccret work- 
ings of the other bias him to excufe or exte- 
nuate it, in the beft manner he is able. When- 
ever he lays open the faults of a writer, he 
forgets not to mention the qualities he had, 
which were deferving of praife. Where Hch 
mer finks into trijlesy he cannot help reproving 
him; but tho' Homer nods fometimes, he is 
Homer Hill; excelling all the world when 
broad awake, and in his fits of drowfinefs 
dreaming \\kt a god. 

The Good-nature alfo of Longinus muft 
not pafs without notice. He bore an averfion 
to the fneers and cavils of thofe, who, unequal 
to the weighty province of Criticifm, abufe it, 
and become its nufance. He frequently takes 
pains to fhew, how mifplaced their animad- 
verfions a^e, and to defend the injured from 
afperfions. There is an inftance of this in 
his vindication of T'heopompus from the cenfure 
of Cecilius ^. He cannot endure to fee what 
is right in that author, perverted into error ; 
nor where he really errs, will he fufFer him to 
pafs unreproved -j^. Yet here his Good-nature 
exerts itfelf again, and he propofes divers me- 
thods of am^ding what is wrong. 

•Sea. XXXI. tSca.XLiir. C3 The 



xxii The Life and Wrtttngs 

The Judgment and Candor and Impartia- 
lity, with which Longinus declares his fcn- 
timents of the writings of others, will, I am 
perfuaded, rife in our efteem, when we refled 
on that exemplary piece of juftice he has done 
to Mofes. The manner di his quoting that 
celebrated paflage * from him, is as honoura- 
ble to the critic, as the quotation itfelf to the 
Jewijh legiflator. Whether he believed the 
Mofaic hiftory of the Creation, is a point, in 
which we are not in the leaft concerned ; but 
it was plainly his opinion, that tho* it be con- 
defcendingly fuited to the finite conception of 
man, yet it is related in a manner riot incon- 
fiftent with the majefty of God. To contend,, 
z%fome do, that he never vtzA Mofes ^ is- trifling, 
or rather litigious. The Greek tranflation had 
been difperfed, throughout the Roman cim- 
pire, long before the time in which he lived ; 
and no man of a ferious, much lefs of a phi- 
lofophical turn, could rejedt it, as unworthy 
a perufal. Bcfides, Zenobia, according to the 
teftimony of Photius •f-, was a Jewijh convert. 
And I have fomewhere feen it mentioned 
from Bellarminey that (he was a Chriftianj 
but as I am a ftranger to the reafons, on which 
he founds the aflertion, I (hall lay no ftrefs 
upon it. 

♦ Sea. IX. t ^refi:(ed ta HudfonV LoflgSnui, fiOt 




#g ^ L o N G I N u s. ixiii 

B|| there is ftrong probability, that Longinus 
'as not only acquainted with the writings of 

e Old Tcftament, but with thofe ^Ifo of 
the N[ew, fihce to a manufcript of the latter 
in the Vatican library, there is prefixed a 
paflage firom fome of this author's writings 
which is preferved there, as an inftance of 
his judgment. He is drawing up a lift of 
the greateft orators, and at the clofe he fays, 
*^ And further^ Paul of Tarfus, the chief fup- 
** porter of an opinion not yet ejlablijhedy 
FabriciuSj I own, has been fo officioufly kind 
as to attribute thcfc words to chriftian for- 
gery *, but for what reafons I cannot conjec- 
ture. If for any of real weight and importance, 
certainly he ought not to have concealed them 
from the world. 

If Longinus ever faw any of the writings of 
St. Pauly he could not but entertain an high 
opinion of him. Such a judge muft needs ap- 
plaud fo mafterly an orator. For where is the 
writer that can vye with him in fublime and 
pathetic eloquence? Demojihenes could roufe 
up the Athenians againft Philipy and Cicero 
ftrike ftiame and confufion into the brcafts of 
Anthony or Catiline -, and did not the eloquence 
of St. Paul^ tho' bound in degrading fetters, 
make the oppreffive, the abandoned Felix 

• Bibliothcca Graeca, 1. 4. c 31. C 4 trem- 



3CXiV The Life and Writings*^ 

tremble^ and almofl perfuade Agrippa^ h]j^l 
of all his prejudice, to be a chriftian P Jfoj 
after his death was looked upon as more than 
human, and temples were ereflcd to hfel ho- 
nour ; and was not St. Paul admired as a god, 
even whilft he was on earth, when the inha- 
bitants oiljfftra would have facrificed to him? 
Let his writings be examined and judged by 
the fevereft teft of the fevereft critics, and 
they cannot be found deficient ; nay, they will 
appear more abundantly flocked with fubllmc 
and pathetic thoughts, with ftrong and beauti- 
ful figures, with nervous and elegant expreffions, 
than any other compofition in the world. 

But, to leave this digrcfllon: It is a remark 
of Sir William Temple, that no pure Greek was 
written after the reign of the Antonini. But 
the ditSion of Longinus, tho' lefs pure than 
that of AriJiotUy is elegant and nervous^ the 
concifenefs or difiufenefs of his periods being 
always fuited to the nature of his fubje<a. 
The terms he ufes arc generally fo ftrong and 
expreffive, and fometimcs fo aftfially com- 

" pounded, that they cannot be rendered into 
another language without wide circumlocution. 
He has ja high and mafculine turn of thought, 
unknown to apy other writer, which inforced 
him to give all pofflble ftrength and energy to 

' hia 



^g '* ^ i/* L O N G I N U S. . XXIP 

feliis ^rds, that his language might be properly 
adjufted to his fcnfc, and the fublimity of the 
• latter be uniformly fupported by the grandeur 
of the former. 

But further, there appears not in Him the 
leaft /hew or afFedlation of learning, tho* his 
ftock was wonderfully large, yet without any 
prejudice to the brightnefs of his fancy. Some 
writers are even profiifc of their commenda- 
tions of him in this refpedt. For how exten- 
fivc muft his reading have been, to deferve 
thofe appellations given him by Eunapius^ that 
he was a living library^ and a walking mufaum? 
Large reading, without a due balance of judg- 
ment, is like a voracious appetite with a bad 
digeftion. It breaks out, according to the na- 
tural complexion of different perfons, either 
into learned dulnefs, or a briik but infipid 
pedantry. In Longinus^ it was fo far from 
palling or extinguifhing, that on the contrary 
it fharpened and enlivened his tafte. He was 
not fo furly as to rejedt the fentiments of others 
without examination, but he had the wifdopi 

4 

»to ftick by his own. 

Let us paufe a little here, and confider what 
a difagrceable and fhocking contraft there is, 
between the . Genius, the Tafte, the Candor, 

the Good-nature, the Gencrofity, and Modeily 

of 



. if 



xxvi 7%e Life and Writings 

of Longinus^ and the Hcavinefs, the DuJhcfi?, 
the fharling and fneering Temper of modern 
Critics, who can feafl on inadvertent flips, and 
triumph over what they think a blunder. His 
very Rules are fhining Examj^les of what they 
inculcate ; his Remarks the very Excellencies 
he is pointing out. theirs arc often Inver- 
iions of what is right, and finking other men 
by clogging them with a weight of their own 
Load. He keeps the fame majeftic pace, or 
foars aloft with his authors; they are either 
creeping after, or plunging below them, fitted 
more by nature for Heroes of a Dtmciady than 
for Judges of fine fenfe and fine writing. The 
buiinefs of a Critic is not only to find fault, 
nor to be all bitternefs and gall. Yet fuch be- 
haviour, in thofe who have ufurped the name, 
has brought the office into fcandal and con- 
tempt. An EJfay on Criticifm appears but once 
in an age ; and what a tedious interval is there 
between Longinus and Mr. Addifon. 

Having triaced our author thus far as a Critic^ 
we mufl view him now in another light, I 
mean as a Philofopher. In Him thcfe are not 
different, but mutually depending and Co-ex- 
ifling4)arts of the fame chara<fter. To judge 
in a worthy manner of the performances of 
men, we mufl know the dignity of human 

nature. 



o^LoNGiNus. xxvii 

nature, the reach of the human underftanding, 
the ends for which we were created, and the 
means of their attainment. In thefe fpccula* 
tionsL^^^/V^of will make no contemptible figure, 
and I hope the view will not appear fuperfluous 

or ufelefs. 

Man cannot arrive to a juft and proper un- 
• derftanding of himfelf, without worthy no- 
tions of the fupreme Being. The fad depra- 
vations of the pagan world are chiefly to be 
attributed to a deficiency in this refpeft. Homer 
has exalted his heroes at the expence of his 
deities, and funk the divine nature far below 
the human ; and therefore deferves that cen* 
fure of blafphemy, which Longinus has paflcd 
upon him. Had the poet defigned to have 
turned the imaginary gods of his . idolatrous 
countrymen into ridicule, he could hardly have 
taken a better method. Yet what he has faid 
has never been underftood in that light ; and 
tho* the whole may be allegorical^ as hjs 
Commentators would fain perftiade us, yet this 
will be no excufe for the malignancy of iti 
cfFe(9:s on a fuperftitious world. The difcourfes 
of Socrates J and the writings of Plato^ had 
in a gr^at meafure correded the notions of 
inquifitive aiid thoughtful men in this parti- 
cular, and caufed the diftin<Slion of religion 

into 



xxviii The Life and JVrittngs 

into vulgar and philofophical. By what Lon^ 
ginus has faid of Horner^ it is plain to me^ 
that his religion was of the latter fort. Tho* 
we allow him not to be a Chriftian or a Jewifh 
convert, yet he was no idolater, fince with* 
out a knowledge and reverence of the divine 
perfedtions, he never could have formed his 
noble ideas of human nature. 

This Life he confiders as a public theatre, 
on which men are to aft their parts. A thirft 
after glory, and an emulation of whatever is 
great and excellent, is implanted in their minds, 
to quicken their purfuits after real grandeur, 
and to enable them to approach, as near as 
their finite abilities will admit, to Divinity it- 
felf. Upon thefe principles, he accounts for 
the vaft ftretch and penetration of the human 
tmderftanding; to thefe he afcribes the labours 
of men of genius; and by the predominancy 
of them in their minds, afcertains the fucccfs 
of their attempts. In the fame manner he 
accounts for that turn in the mind, which biaflcs 
us to admire more what is great and uncom- 
mon, than what is ordinary and familiar, how-- 
ever ufefiil. There are other mafterly reflexions 
of this kind in the 33d and 34th ,Se<5lions, 
which are only to be excelled by Mr. Addifon's 
EJfay on the imagination. Whoever reads this " 

part -, 



^ L o N G I N u St xxix 

part of Longinus, and that piece of Mr. jiJJi^ 
fon's vifith attention, will form notions of them 
both) very much to their honour. \ 

Yet the felling us we were born to purfue 
what is great, without informing us what is fo, 
would avail but little. Longinus declares for a 
clofe and attentive examination of all things.' 
Outfides and furfaces may be Iplendid and al- 
luring,^ yet nothing be within deferving our 
applaufe. He that fufFers himfelf to be dazled ; 
with a gay and gaudy appearance, will be be- 
trayed into admiration of what the wife con- 
temn; his purfuits will be levelled at wealth, 
and power, and high rank in Ufe, to the pre- 
judice of his inward tranquillity, and perhaps 
the wreck of his virtue. The pageantry and 
pomp of life will be regarded by fuch a perfon, 
as true honour and glory ; and he will negledt 
the nobler acquifitions, which are more fuited 
to the dignity of his nature, which alone can 
give merit to ambition, and centre in folid and 
fubftantial grandeur. 

The Mind is the fource and ftandard of 
whatever can be confidered as great and illuf- 
trious in jiny light. From this our adlions and 
our words muft flow, and by this muft they 
be weighed. We muft think well, before we 

can aft or fpeak as we ought. And it i^the- 

inward 



x%x 7l)e Life and Writings 

inward vigour of the foul, tho' varioujly ex- 
erted, which forms the patriot, the philofopher^ 
the orator, or the poet : this was the rife of ao 
Alexander^ a Socrates^ a DemoftheneSy and a ^ 
Homer. Yet this inward vigor is chiefly ow- 
• ing to the bounty of nature^ is cherilhed and 
improved by education^ but cannot reach ma- 
turity, without other concurrent caufes, fucb 
as public liberty, and the flrideft practice of 
virtue. 

That the Seeds of a great genius in any kind 
muft be implanted within, and cherifhed and 
improved by education^ are points in which 
the whole world agrees. But the importance 
of liberty in bi*inging it to pcrfedion, may 
perhaps be more liable to debate. Longinus is 
clear on the affirmative fide. He fpeaks feel- 
ingly, but .with caution about it, becaufe ty- 
ranny and oppreflion were triumphant at the 
time he wrote. 

He averSy with a fpirit of generous indig- 
nation, that flavery is the confinement of the 
foul, and a public dungeon f . On this he 
charges the fuppreffion of genius, and decay of 
the fublime. The condition of n\an is de- 
plorable, when he dares not exert his abilities, 
and rans into imminent danger by faying or 
doing what he ought. Tyranny, credcd on the . 
Sea. XLiv. ruina 



^LoNGiNus; xxxi 

ruins of liberty, lays an immediate reftraint on 
t|;ie minds of vaflals, fo that the inborn fir6 of 
genius is quickly damped, and fuiFers at laft a 
total extinction. This muft always be a ne- 
ceffary confequence, when what ought to be 
the reward of an honourable ambition, be- 
comes the prey of knaves and flatterers. But 
the infedtion gradually fpreads, and fear and ava-p 
rice will bend thofe to it, whom nature formed 
for higher employments, and fink lofty orators 
into pompous flatterers. The truth of this 
remark will eafily appear, if we compare Cicero 
fpeaking to Catiline^ to the fame Cicero plead- 
ing before Cafar for Marcellus. That fpirit of 
adulation, which prevailed fo much in Eng^ 
land about a century ago, lowered one of the 
greatefl: genius's that ever lived, and turned 
even the lord Bacon into a fycophant. And 
this will be the cafe, wherever power in- 
croaches on the rights of mankind : a fervile 
fear will clog and fetter every rifing genius, 
will ftrike fuch an awe upon it in its tender 
and infant ftate, as will fl:ick for ever after, 
and check its generous fallies. No one will 
write or fpeak well in fuch a iituation, unlefs 
on fubjedls of meer amufcment, and which 
cannot, by any indiredl tendency, affe(fl his 
mailers* For how ihall the vaflal dare to talk 

fub- 



xxxii 7%e Life and Writings 

fublimely on any point, wherein his lord 
adls meanly? 

But further, aS defpotic and unbridled power 
is generally obtained, fo 'tis as often fupported 
by unjuftifiable methods. The fplendid and 
oftentatious pageantry of thofe at the helm, 
gives rife to luxury and profiifenefs among the 
fubjedls. Thefe arc the fatal fources of diflo- 
lule manners, of degenerate fentiments, of in- 
famy and wanf. As pleafure is fupplied by 
money, no method, however mean, is omitted 
to procure the latter, becaufe it leads to the 
enjoyment of the former. Men become cor- 
rupt and abjeft, their minds are enervated and 
infenfible to fhame. " The faculties of the 
foul (in the words oiLonginus) * will then 
grow ftupid, their fpirit will be loft, and 
good fenfe and genius muft lie in ruins, when 
the care and ftudy of man is engaged about 
•* ,the mortal, the worthlefs part of himfelf, 
and he has ceafed to cultivate virtue, and 
polifli his nobler part, the foul/* 
The fcope of our author's reflexions in tho 
latter part of the fedion is this j that genius 
can never exert itfelf or rife tofublimity, where, 
'virtue is negledted, and the morals are depraved* 
Cicero was of the fame opinion before him, 
and ^intilian has a whole chapter to prove, 
• Sea. XLiv* that 



<€ 

CC 
CC 
CC 



<C 
CC 



o^LoNGiNus. xxxiii 

that the great Orator muft be a good Man. 
Men of the fineft genius which have hitherto 
appeared in the world, have been for the moft 
part not very defcdiivc in their morals, and 
lefs in their principles. I am fenfible there 
are exceptions to this obfervation, but little to 
the credit of: the perfons, fince their works 
become the fevereft fatires on thcmfeivcs, and 
the manifeft oppofition between their thought 
md pradice detradls its weight from the one, 
ind marks out the other for public abhorrence. 

An inward grandeur of foul is the common 
:enter, from whence every ray oi fublimity^ 
either in thought, or adtion, or difcourfc, is 
larted out. For all minds are no more of the 
amc complexion, than all bodies of the fame 
:exture. In the latter cafe, our eyes would 
neet only with the fame uniformity of colour 
n every objedt : In the former ^ we fhould be 
ill orators or poets, all philofophers, or all 
blockheads. This would break in upon that 
)eautiful and ufeful variety, with which the 
\uthor of nature has ddorned the rational as 
veil as the material creation. There is in 
ivery mind a tendency, tho* perhaps difFerendy 
Qclined, to what is great and excellent. Happy 
hey, who know their own peculiar bent, who 
lave been bleffed with opportunities of giving 

D it 



xxxiv 77>e Life and Writingi^ &c. 

it the proper culture and polifh, and are not 
cramped or reftrained in the liberty of fhewing 
and declaring it to others ! There are many 
fortunate concurrences, without which we 
cannot attain to any quicknefs of tafte or relifli 
for the Sublime. 

I hope what has been faid will not be 
thought an improper IntroduSiion to the fd- 
lowing Treatife, in which (unlefs I am de- 
ceived) there is a juft foundation for every 12^ 
mark that has been made. The author appeal! 
fublime in every view, not only in what he has 
written, but in the manner in which he adled^ 
and the bravery with which he died; by aU 
acknowledged the Prince of Critics^ and by 
no worfe judge than Boileau efteemed a PU-^ 
lofopber^ worthy to be ranked with Socrates 
and Cafo. 




LONGINUS^ 




LONGINUS 



O N TH E 



SUBLIME. 




E C T I O N I. 

OU remember, (i) my dear 
"terentianui^ that when we read 
over together (2) Cecilim'% trea- 
tUe on the Sublime^ wc thought 
it too mean for a fubjeft of ^at 
nature, 

(i) Who this Termtianus, or Ptjlhumius TerenttanuSf 
was, to whom the author addrellb this Treatife, is not pof- 
ftblc to be difcovered, nor is it of any great importance. But 
it appears, from fomc pafTages in the fecjuel of this work, that 
he was a young Remariy a perfon of a bright genius, an 
d^ant tafte, and a particular friend to Longtnus. What he 
fays of him, I'm coniidcnt, was fpdcen with fincerity more 
than complaifance, fmce Lang'inus mud have difdained to 
flatter, like a modern dedicator. 

(z) Ceciliut was a Sicilian rhetorician. He lived under 

^gufiui^ and wu contemporary with Diur/Jhis of Hali- 

D * cernoJfuSf 



LoNGiNUs Se(9:. r. 

nature, that it is entirely defeBive in its prin- 
cipal branches, and that confcquently its ad- 
vantage (which ought to be the principal aim 
of every writer) would prove very fmall to 
the readers. Befides, tho' in every treatifc 
upon any fcience two points are indifpenfably 
required; ihcjirfty that the fcience, which is 
the fubje<ft of it, be fully explain'd; ihzfecond 
(I mean in order of writing, fincc in excel- 
lence it is far the fuperior) that plain direc- 
tions be given, how and by what method 
fuch fcience may be attain'd ; yet CeciliuSy who 
brings a thoufand inftances to ihew what the 
Sublime is, as if his readers were wholly ig- 
norant of the matter, has omitted, as alto- 
gether unneceflary, the method^ which, judi- 
cioufly obferved, might enable us to raife our 
natural genius to any height of this Sublime. 
But perhaps, this writer is not fo much to be 
blamed for his omiflions, as commended for 
his good deiigns and earneft endeavours. You 
indeed have laid your commands upon me, 
to give you my thoughts on this Sublime; 
let us then, in obedience to thofe commands, 
confider, whether any thing can be drawn 

irottk 

€arnaju$^ with whom he contraded a very dofe friendihip. 
He is thought to have been the firft, who wrote on the 
SublinH. 

(3) Tboft 



Scd. r. on tie S V B L I M E. 

from my private ftudies, for the fervice of 
(3) thofe who write for the world, or fpeak 
in public. 

But I requeft you, my dear friend, to give 
me your opinion on whatever I advance, with 
that exaftnefs, which is due to truth, and 
that fincerity, which is natural to yourfelf. For 
well did the * fage anfwer the queftion, In 
v>bat do we mojl refemble the Gods ? when he 
replied. In doing good and /peaking truth. But 
iince I write, my d,ear friend, to you, who 
•are vers'd in every branch of polite learning, 
there will be little occafion to ufe many pre- 
vious words in proving, that the Sublime is a 
certain eminence or perfeftion of language, 
and that the greatcft writers, both in verfe 
and profe, have by this alone obtain'cj the 
prize of glory, and fiU'd all time with their 
renown. For the Sublime not only perfuades, 
but even throws an audience into tranfport. 
The Marvellous always works with more fur- 
prifing force, than that which barely perfuades 
or delights. In moft cafes, it is wholly in our 
own power, either to refift or yield to per- 
fuafion. But the Sublime^ endued with ftrength 

irre- 

(3) Thofe who write for the world j or fpeak in public, '\ I 
take all this to be implied in the original word troKtriKolf* 
• Pythagoras. 

D 3 (4) The 



LONGINUS Sc6t I. 

irrcfiftiblc, ftrikes home, and triumphs over 
every hearer. Dexterity of invention, and 
good order and ©economy in compofition, arc 
not to be difcerned from one or two paflages, 
nor fcarcely fometimes from the whole texture 
of a difcourfej but (4) the Sublime^ when 
feafonably addreffed, with the rapid force of 
lightning has borne down all before it, and 
fhewn at one ftrokc the compared might 
of genius. But thefe, and truths like thefe, 
fo well known and familiar to himfelf, I am 
confident my dear Terentianus can undeniably 
prove by his own practice. 

SECT- 

(4) The Sublime, when feafonably addrtffed, &c.] This 
fentence is inimitably fine in the original. Dr. Pearce has 
an ingenious obfervation upon it. <^ It b not eafy (fays he) 
" to determine, whether the precepts of Longinusy or his 
*' example, be moft to be obferved and followed in the 
<< courfe of this work, iince his ftile is poflefled of all the 
." Sublimity of his fubjed. Accordingly, in this paflage, to 
^' exprefs the power of the Sublime, he has made ufe of 
** his words, with all the art and propriety imaginable. 
** Another writer would^have faid J^nt^opS and hJ^eiKwrat, 
'' but this had been too dull and languid. Our author ufes 
*' the preterperfeft tenfe, the better to cxprels the power 
•* and rapidity, with which fublimity of difcourfe ftrikes the 
<* minds of its hearers. It is like lightning (fays our author) 
•** becaufe you can no more look upon this, when prefcht, 
" than you can upon the flafh of that. Befides, the ftruc- 
" turc of the words in the clofe of the fentence is admirable. 
« They run along, and arc hurried in the celerity of ftort 

« vowels. 



I 



cc 

€€ 
i€ 



Sq&. 2« on the S u b l i m e. 
SECTION II. 

I 

B U T wc ought not to advance, before wc 
clear the point, whether or no there be any 
Art in the Sublime (i). ^ For fome are entirely 
of opinion, that they are guilty .of a great 
miftake, who would reduce it to the rules of 
art. " The Sublime (fay they) is born within 
us, and is not to be learned by precept. 
The only art to reach /V, is, to have tha 
power from nature. And (as they reafon) 
thofe eifeds, which fliould be purely na- 
tural, 

** vowck. They reprefent to the life the rapid motion, 
^ cither of Lightning, or the Sublime.'* 

(i) In all the editions is added S 0tf'9tf< or the profound: 
a perplexing expreifion, and which perhaps gave rife to a 
treatiib on the Bathos. It was purpofely omitted in the 
tranflation, for this plain fubftantial reafon, becaufe I could 
not make fenfe of it. I have fince been favoured with a 
fight of the learned Dr. TonJiaVs conjeftural emendations on 
this author, and here for ^di^a he readeth W9if<. The 
minute alteration of a fuigle letter enlighteneth and cleareth 
the whole paffage: the context, the whole tenor of the 
piece, juftifieth the emendation. I beg leave therefore to 

give the following new verfion of the paflage. ** But we 

*« ought not to advance, before we clear the point, whether 
«' or no there be any art in the Sublime or the Pathetic, 
** For fomp are entirely of opinion, that they are guilty of 
** a great miftake, who would reduce them to the rules of 
^' art. Thefc high attainments (fay they) are born within 



L o N 6 I N u s Bed:. ^ 

'^ tural, are difpirited and weakened by the dry 
" impoveriftiing rules of art." 
But I maintain, that the contrary might 

cafily appear, would they onlyrefledl diat 

(2) tho' nature for the moft part challenges a 
fovereign and uncontroukblc power in the Pa- 
thetic and Sublime^ yet fhe is not altogether 
lawlcfs, but delights in a proper regulation. 

That again^ tho' fhe is the ibundation, and 

even the fource of all degrees of the Sublime^ 
yet that method is able to point out in the 
clcareft manner the peculiar tendencies of each, 
and to mark the proper feafons, in which they 
ought to be inforced and applied. And fur- 
ther—that Flights of grandeur are then in 
the utmoft danger, when left at random to 

them- 

<' us, and arc not to be learned by precept : the only art 
•• to reach them is to have the power from nature." 

(2) Thefe obfervations of Longinus^ and the following 
Jines of Mr. Popey are a very proper illuftration for one 
another. 

Firft follow nature, and your judgment frame 
By her juft ftandard, which is ftill the fame: 
Unerring nature, ftill divinely bright, 
One clear, unchanged, and univerfal light. 
Life, force, and beauty muft to all impart. 
At once the fource, and end, and teft of art. 
Art from that fond each juft fupply prpvides. 
Works without 0iew« and without pomp prefides : 

la 






Se&. 2. on the Sub l i m e. 

themfelves, having no ballaft properly to poife, 
no helm to guide their courfe, but cum- 
bred with their own weight, and bold with- 
out diicretion. Genius may fometimes want 
the fpur, but it flands as frequently in need 
of the curb. 

Demojihenes fomewhere judicioufly obferves. 
That in common life fuccefs is the greateft 
good ; that the next, and no lefs important, 
" is condudt, without which the other muft 
" be unavoidably of fhort continuance." Now 
the fame may be aflerted of Compofitton^ where 
nature will fupply the place of fuccefs, and 
art the place of condudt. 

But further, there is one thing which de- 
fences particular attention. For tho' it muft 

be 

In fome fair body thus the fecret (bul 
With fpirits feeds, with vigour fills the whole; 
Each motion guides, and every nerve fuflains, 
Itfelf unfeen, but in th' effefi remains. 
There are, whom heav'n has bleft with ftore of wit. 
Yet want as much again to manage it; 
For wit and judgment ever are at ftrife, 
Tho' meant each others aid, like man and wife. 
'Tis more to guide, than fpur the mufe's deed, 
Reftrain his fury, than provoke his fpeed; 
The winged courfer, like a generous horfe. 
Shews moft true mettle^ when you check his courfe. 

BJfay on criticifm* 

(I) Here 



8 LONGINUS Scft. 3* 

be own*d, that there is a force in eloquence, 
which depends not upon, nor can be learn'd 
by rule, yet even this could not be known 
without that light which we receive from art* 
If therefore, as I laid before, he who con- 
demns fuch works as this in which I am now 
engaged, would attend to thefe reflexions, I 
have very good reafon to believe, he would no 
longer think any undertaking of this nature 
fuperfluous or ufelefs. 

SECTION III. 

9S *9k ▼ V "Sfp ^ ^ ^ ^ ill 

latt them the chimney's flafliing flames repcL 
Could but thefe eyes one lurking wretch arrcft, \ 
I*d whirl aloft one flreaming curl of flame, 
And into embers turn his crackling dome. 
But now a generous fong I have not founded." 

Streaming 

(i) Here is a great defcfl: ; but it is evident that the author 
IS treating of thofc imperfc&ions, which are oppofite to the 
true Sublime, and among thofc, of extravagant fwelling or 
bombaft, an example of which he produces from fome old 
tragic poet, none of whofe lines, except thefe here quoted) 
and fome expreffions below, remain at prefent. 

(2) Making Boreas a piper,"] Shake/pear has fallen into 
the fame kind of bombaft: 

the fouthern wind 

Doth plaj ;tbc trumpet to bis purpoies. 

FirftpaitofiF&»ryIV. 
(3) Gcrgias 



\ 



Sed. 3. on the Sublime. 

Streaming curls of flame ^ Spewing againji 
Heaven^ and (2) making Boreas a piper y with 
fuch like exprcflions, are not tragical, but 
fupcr- tragical. For thafe forced and unnatural 
Images corrupt and debafe the ftile, and can- 
not poflibly adorn or raife it ; and whenever 
carefiiUy examined in the light, their fhew of 
being terrible gradually difappears, and they 
become contemptible and ridiculous. Tra- 
gedy will indeed by its nature admit of fomc 
pompous and magnificent fwellings, yet even 
in tragedy 'tis an unpardonable offence to 
foar too high ; much lefs allowable muft it 
therefore be in Profe -writings or thofe works, 
which are founded in truth. Upon this ac- 
count fome cxpreffions of (3) Gorgias the 
Leontine are highly ridicul'd, who ftiles Xerxes 
^e Perflan Jupiter , and calls vultures living 

fepulchres. 

(3) Gorgias the Leontine, or of Leontium^ was a Sicilian 
rhetorician, and father of the Sophifts. He wa9 in fuch 
univerfal efteem throughout Greece, that a ftatue was ereded 
to his honour in the temple of Apollo at Delphos, of folid 
gold, tho' the cuftom had been, only to gild them. His 
filling Xerxes the Perfian Jupiter, it is thought, may be 
defended from the cuflom of the Perjians, to falute their 
monarch by that high title. Calling vultures living fepulchres^ 
has been more feverdy cenfur'd by Hermogenes than Longi- 
fttis. The authors of fuch quaint expreffions (as he fays) 
deferve themfelves to be buried in fuch tombs. 'Tis certain 

that 



lo LoNGiNus Se<9:.3, 

fepulcbres. Some cxpreffions of (4) Calliftbenes 
deferve the fame treatment, for they (hinc 
not like ftars, but glare like meteors. And 
(5) Clitarchus comes under this cenfurc ftill 
more, who blufters indeed, and blows, as 
Sophocles exprefles it,. ' 

Loud founding blafts not fwcetned by the ftop. 

Ampbi^ 
fliat Writers of great reputation have ufed allufions of the 
fame nature. Dr. Pearce has produced inftances from Ovid, 
and even from Cicero ; and obferved further, that Gregory 
Na%ian%en has ftiled thofe wild beafts that devour men, r««- 
ning fepulchres. However, at beft they are but conceits, with 
iTvhich little wits in all ag^ will be delighted, the great may 
accidentally flip into, and fuch, as men of true judgment may 
overlook, but will hardly commend. 

(4) Callijlbenis fucceeded Arijl&tle in the'tuitionof if/^jr- 
mder the great, and wrote a hiftory of the afiairs of Greece. 

(5) Clitarchus wrote an account of the exploits of Alex* 
einder the great, having attended him in his expeditions. 
Demetrius Phalerius, in his treatife on Elocution^ has ccn* 
fur'd his fwelling defcription of a wafp. " It feeds, fays he, 
«« upon the mountains, and flies into hollow oaks," It fcems 
as if he was fpeaking of a wild bull, or the boar of Ery* 
tnanthusy and not of fuch a pitiful creature as a wafp. And 
for this reafon, fays Demetrius^ the defcription is cold and 
difagreeable. 

(6) Ampbicrates was an Athenian orator. Being baniihed 
to Seleucia^ and requeued to fet up a fchool there, he replied 
with arrogance and difdain, that " The difi was not large 
** enough/or dolphins.** Dr. Pearce. 

(7) Hegeftas was a Magnefian. Cicero in his Orator^ 
t. 226. fays humoroufly of him, '^ He is faulty no lefs in 
«« bis thoughts than his expreffions, fo that no one who has 

** any 



Y 



Sed. 3. Oft the Sublime. i i 

{ty ^/impbicrateSj (7) Hegefias^ and (&) Mz- 
A7V, may all be tax*d with the fame impcr- 
fcd:ions. For often, when, in their own opi- 
nion, they are all divine, what they imagine to 
be godlike fpirit, proves empty fimple froth (9). 

Bombaji however is amongft thofe faults, 
which are moil difHcult to be avoided. All 

men 

** any knowledge of him, need ever be at si lofs for a man 
*< to call itnpirtinent** One of his frigid expreifions is flill • 
remaining. Alexander was born the fame night that the 
temple of Diana at Ephefus, the fineft edifice in the worlds 
was by a terrible fire reduced to afhes. Hegefias in a pane- 
gyrical declamation on Alexander the great, attempted thus 
Co turn that accident to his honour: " No wonder, faid he, 
*« that Diana*s temple was confumed by fo terrible a con- 
•* flagration: the goddefs was fo taken up in aflifting at 
•« Olinthia^s delivery of Alexander ^ that flie had no Icifure 
« to extinguifh the flames, which were deflroying her 
<* temple." " The coldnefs of this exprefEon (fay« P/«- 
<< tarch in Alex,) is fo exceffively great, that it feems fuiS- 
«« cient of itfelf to have extinguifhed the fire of the temple." 

I wonder Plutarch,^ who has given fo little quarter to He" 
gefias^ has himlelf efcaped cenfure, till Dr. Pearce took cog- 
nifance of him. *' Dulnefs (fays he) is fometimes' infec- 
•* tious; for yi\i\\t Plutarch is cenfuring Hegefiasy he &lls 
«« into his very charafter." 

(8) Who Matris was I tannot find, but commentators 
obfcrve from Athenaus^ that he wrote in profe an Encomium 
upon Hercules, 

(9) Vid. Cic. 1. 4. Rhetoricorum, p. 97. ed. Delph. vol. i. 
What is faid there about the Sufflata conJlruSfio verborum^ 
agrees very exaAly with Lenginus's fenfe of the bombafl. 

(10) Tbeo^ 



12 LONGINUS Scfl:. 3*' 

men are naturally biafs'd to aim at grandeur. 
Hence it is, that by fhunning with utmoft 
diligence the cenfure of impotence and fiegm, 
they are hurried into the contrary extreme. 
They are mindful of the maxim, that 

In great attempts 'tis glorious ev*n to fall. 

But tumours in writing, as well as in the 
• human body, are certain diforders. Empty and 
veird over with fuperficial bignefs, they only 
delude, and work efFefts contrary to thofe 
for which they were defigned. Nothings ac- 
cording to the old faying, is drier than a per^ 
Jon dijiemper'd with a dropfy. 

Now the only failure in this fwoln and 
pufF*d-up ftile is, that it endeavours to go 
beyond the true Sublime^ whereas Puerilities 
are direftly oppofite to it. They arc low and 
grov'ling, meanly and faintly exprefs'd, and 
in a word are the moft ungenerous and 
unpardonable errors, that an author can be 
guilty of. 

But what do we mean by a Puerility? 
Why, 'tis certainly no more than a fchool- 

boy's 

(lo) Theodorus is thought to have been bom at Gadara^ 
and to have Uught at Rhodes. Ttberius dgfar^ according 

to 



SciSt. 3. on the Sv BLiM 2. 13 

boy's thought, which, by too eager a purfuit 
of elegance, becomes dry and infipid. And 
thofe perfons commonly fail in this particular, 
who by an ill-managed zeal for a noat, cor- 
rect, and above all, a fweet ftile, are hurried 
into low turns of expreffion, into a heavy and 
xiaufeous affectation. 

To thefe may be added a third fort of im- 
perfection in the PatbetiCy which (10) Heo* 
dorus has named the Parentbyrfe^ or an ill- 
timed emotion. It is an unneceflary attempt 
to work upon the paffions, where there is no 
need of a Pathos i or fome excefs, where mo- 
deration is requifite. For feveral authors, of . 
no fober underftandings, are exceflively fond 
of pailionate expreflions, which bear no rela- 
tion at all to their fubjefl:, but are whims of 
their own, or borrowed from the fchools. The 
confequence is, they meet with nothing but 
contempt and deriiion from their unaffedted 
audience. And it is what they deferve, fince 
they force themfelves into tranfport and emo- 
tion, whilfl: their audience is calm, fedate, and 
unmoved. But I muft referve the Pathetic 
for another place. 

S E C T- 

to^in^tlian, is reported to have heard him with application, 
during his retirement in that ifland, Langbaim. 

(i) Timaus 



ii|. L o N G I N u s. Sedt. 4* 

SECTION IV. 

(i) TCIMJEUS abounds very much in 
the Frigid^ the other vice of which I am 
fpcaking 3 a writer, it is true, fufEciently fkillcd 
in other points, and who fometimes reaches 
the genuine Sublime. He was indeed a per- 
fon of a ready invention, polite learning, and 
a great fertility and flrength of thought. But 
thefe qualifications are, in a great meafure, 
clouded by the propenfity he has to blazon the 
imperfections of others, and a wilful blindnefs 
in regard to his own ; tho' a fond defire of 
new thoughts and uncommon turns has often 
plunged him into fhamefiil Puerilities. The 
trath of thefe affertions I ftiall confirm by one 
or two inftances alone, fince Cecilius has al- 
ready given us a larger number. 

When he commends Alexander the great^ 
he tells us, " that he conquered all Jjfia in 
** fewer years than Ifocrates was compofing 
" his Panegyric." A wonderfiil parallel in- 
deed between the conqueror of the world, 

and 

(i) Tttnaus was a SiciHSn hiftoriaiu Cicero has sketched 

c character of him in his Orator^ I, z. c, 14.. which 

very well with the favorable part of that which is 

in this £s£tion. But Longinus takes notice further of 

his 




Sc^. 4. o/i the S u B L y M E* 15 

and a profeffor of rhetoric [ By your method 
of computation, Timaus^ ^he Lacedemonians 
fall vaftly fhort of Ifocrafe:^^ in expedition ; 
for they ijpcnt thirty years i»vthc liege of 
Mejfene^ he only ten in writing vthat Pane- 
gyric. ^ ^ ^ >, 

But how does he inveigh againft thof* Athe-- 
mansy who were made prifoners after the De- 
feat in Sicily. " Guilty (fays he) of facrilege 
" againft Hermes^ and having defaced his 
*' images, they were now feverely puniftied i 
" and what is fomewhat extraordinary, by 
" one Hermocrates the fon of Hermon^ who 
** was paternally defcended from the injured 
y deity/' Really, my T'erentianuSy I am fur- 
prifed that he has not pafs'd the fame cenfurc 
on Dionyfius the tyrant, " who for his hei- 
nous impiety towards Jupiter (or Dia) and 
Hercules (Heraclea) was dethroned by Dion 
^^ and Heraclides'' 

Why fhould I dwell any longer upon 21r- 
maus^ when even the very heroes of good 
Writing, Xenopbon and Plafo^ tho' educated in 
the fchool of Socrates^ fometimes forget them- 1 

felves, 

his fcvcrity ta others, which even drew upon him the fur- 
name of Epitimaus^ from the grqck i'Trni^S.v, bccaufe he 
was continually chiding and finding fault. 

E (») Tbtn 



CC 



cc 

I 

cc 

cc 

•cc 

cc 



i6 Lr)NaiNUs Sedl. 4. 

fclvcs, and tran^efe thro' an affbiStation of 
fuch pretty flouri^s ? The former in his Po- 
lity of the Laced^ionians fpeaks th«s : " They 
" obferve aij/^n interrupted filenc^ and keep 
their ejf'* as fix'd and unmoved, as if they 
were/to many ftatues of ftone or brajfs. 
Yoi| might with reafon think them more 
modeft (2) than the (3) virgins in their 
eyes." Amphicrates might, perhaps, be al- 
lowed to ufe the term of modeji virgins for 
the pupils of the eye ; but what an indecency 
is it in the great Xenophon? And what a 
ftrange perfuafion, that the pupils of the eye 
fhould be in general the feats of modefty, 

when 

(2) Than the virgins in their eyes,] Xencphon, in this paf- 
fage, is fliewing the care, which that excellent lawgiver 
Lycurgus took, to accuftom the Spartan youth to a grave 
and modeft behaviour. He injoinM them, whenever they 
appear'd in public, '^ to cover their arms with their gown, 
«* to walk filentlyi to keep their eyes from wandering, by 
«< looking always direftly before them/' Hence it was, that 
they differ'd from ftatues only in their motion. But un- 
doubtedly that, turn upon the word )t6jif», here blamed by 
Longinusy would be a great blemilh to this fine Piece^ if it 
were juftly chargeable on the author. But Longinus muft 
needs have made ufe of a very incorreft copy, which, by an 
unpardonable blunder, had h to7< l^hAh^oii inftead of \v 
Toif ^AKoluoif, as it ftands now in the beft editions, par- 
ticularly that at Paris by H. Stephens. This quite removes 
the cold and infipid tum^ and reftores a fcnfe which is 

worthy 



Scft. 4* on the Sv BLiwE. ' 17 

when impudence is no where more vifiblc 
than in the eyes of fome ? Homer y for inftance, 
calls a perfon. 

Drunkard ! thou dog in eye ! ^f^ 

^imausy as if he had found a treafure, 
could not pafs by this infipid turn of Xeno* 
phon^ without imitation. Accordingly he fpeafcs 
thus of Agathocles : " He ravifh'd his own 
** coufin, tho' married to another perfon, and 
" on (4) the very day when flic was firft feen 
" by her hufband without a veil; a crime, 
** of which none but he who had prof^itutps, . 
*^ not virgins, in his eyes, could be guilty.'* 

Neither 

worthy of Xenophon : *« You would think them more mo- 
«« deft in their whole behaviour, than virgins in the bridal 

;' bed." 

(3) The word jtop», fignifying both a virgin and the pupil 
ef the eje^ has given occafion for thefe cold infipid turns. 

t Iliad. 1. r. v. 225. 

(4) The very day when — — « veil'\ All this is implied 
in the word ivA'^tLKM'At^iov. It was the cuftom throughout 
Greece^ and the Grecian colonies, for the unmarried women 
never to appear in public, or to converfe with Men, without 
a veil. The fecond or third day after Marriage, it was 
ufual for the bridegroom to make prefents to his bride, 
which were called ttvAKctKvTrTnptct, for then fhe immedi- 
ately unycil'd, and liberty was given him to converfe freely 

with her ever ^ftcr. 

See Pottier*^ Antiquities^ V. ii. p. 294-5; 

E 2 (5) men- 



» 






i8 LoNGiNUs Se6t. 5. 

Neither is the divine Plato to be acquitted of 
this failure, when he fays, for inftance i 
After they are written, they depofit in the 
temples thefe cyprefs memorials J." And 
in another paiTage ; *^ As to the walls, Megil- 
" lusy I join in the opinion of Sparta^ to let 
'* them fleep fupine on the earth, and not to 
** roufe them up *." Neither does an ex- 
i^rtffion oi Herodotus fall ftiort of it, (5) when 
he calls beautiful women ^ " the pains of the 
*^ eye -f/* Tho' this indeed may admit of 
fome excufe, fince in his hiftory it is fpoke 
by drunken barbarians. But neither in fuch a 
cafe, is it prudent to hazard the cenfure of pof- 
terity, rather than pafs over a pretty conceit. 

* 

SECTION V. 

ALL thefe and fuch like indecencies in 
compofition take their rife from the fame ori- 
ginal ; I mean that eager purfuit of uncom- 
mon turns of thought, which almoft infatuates 

the 



•I 
+ 



Plato 5. Legum. * Plato 6. Legum. 

+ Herod. Terpfichore c. 1 8. 

(5) When he calls — of the eye,"] The critics are ftrangcly 
divided about the juftice of this remark. Authorities are 
urged, and parallel expreffions quoted on both fides. £««- 
oi*?us blamcb' it, but afterwards candidly allcdges the only 

plea^ 



u .. 



■•i 



Sed. 6. on ifie Su BLiM E. 19 

the writers of the prefent age. For our ex- 
cellencies and defedls flow almoft from the 
fame common fource. So that thofe correct 
and elegant, thofe pompous and beautiful ex- 
preflions, of which good writing chiefly con- 
fifls, are frequently fo difl:orted, as to become 
the unlucky caufes and foundations of oppo- 
lite blemiflies. This is manifeft in hyperbolh 
and plurals -, but the danger attending an in- 
judicious ufe of thefe figures, I fhall difcover 
in the fequel of this work. At prefent it is 
incumbent upon me to enquire, by what means • 
wc may be enabled to avoid thofe vices, which 
border fo near upon, and are fo eafily blended 
with the true Sublime. 

SECTION VI. 

THIS indeed may be eafily learned, if 
we can gain a thorough infight and penetration 
into the nature of the true Sublime^ which, to 
fpeak truly, is by no means an eafy, or a 

ready 



plea, which can be urged in Its favour, that it was faid by 
drunken Barbarians. And who, but fuch fots, would have 
given tlie moft delightful objedls in nature fo rude and uncivil 
an appellation? I appeal to the ladies, for the propriety of 
this obfervation. 

E 3 (0 It 



j*P 



20 LoNGiNUS Sc<3:. 7. 

ready acquifitlon. To pafs a right judgment 
upon compofitions is generally the efFeft of a 
long experience, and the laft improvement of 
ftudy and obfervation. But however, to fpeak 
in the way of encouragement, a more cxjptr 
ditious method to form our tafte, may per* 
haps by the affiftancc of Rules be fuccefs^ ^ 
fully attempted. 

SECTION VIL 

YOU cannot be ignorant, my deareft 
friend, that in common life there is nothing . 
great, a contempt of which fliews a greatnefe 
of foul. So riches, honours, titles, crowns, 
and whatever is veil'd over^with a theatrical 
fplendor, and a gawdy outfide, can never be 
regarded as intrinfically good, in the opinion 
of a wife man, fince by defpifing fuch things 
no little glory is acquired. For thofe perfons, 
who have ability fufficient to acquire, but 
through an inward generofity fcorn fuch ac^ 
quifitions, are more admired than thofe, who 
adlually poffefs them. 

In 

(i) It is remarked in the notes to Boikauh tranflation, 
that thp great prince of Conde^ upon hearing this paflagc, 
cried out, P^oila le Sublime ! voila fin veritable caraSfen / 

(2) ♦^ This is a vcrj fine defcription of the Sublime, and 




s 



Sed. 7. on Jt6e SvBLtUE. 21 

In the fame manner we muft judge of 
whatever looks great both in poetry and profe. 
We muft carefully examine whether it be not 
only appearance. We muft divert it of all 
fuperiicial pomp and garnish. If it cannot ftand 
this trial, without doubt it is only fwelled and 
puffed up, and it will be more for our ho- 
nour to contemn than to admire it. ( i ) For 
the mind is naturally elevated by the true Sui^ 
limey and fo fenfibly afiedted with its lively 
ftrokes, that it fwells in tranfport and an in- 
ward pride, as if what was only heard had been ■ 
the produd: of its own invention. 

He therefore, who has a competopt fhare 
of natural and acquired tafte, may ealily dif- 
cover the value of any performance from a 
bare recital of it. If he finds, that it trans- 
ports not his foul, nor exalts his thoughts ; that 
it calls not up into his mind ideas more en- 
larged than what the mere founds of the words 
convey, but on attentive examination its dig- 
nity leffens and declines; he may conclude^ 
that whatever pierces no deeper than the ears, 
can never be the true Sublime. (2) T'hat on 

the 

<« finer ftill, becaufe it is very fublime itfelf. But it is only 
«6 a defcription ; and it does not appear that Lon^inus in- 
" tended, any where in this treatife, to give an cxaft dc- 
^ finition of it. The rcafon is, becatifc he wrote after 

E 4. . '* Cecilius^ 



22 LONGINUS Sedl. 7* 

the contrary is grand and lofty, which the 
more we confider, the greater ideas we con- 
ceive of it ; whofe force we cannot poflibly 
withftand ; which immediately finks deep, and 
makes fuch impreffions on the mind, as can- 
not be eafily worn out or effaced. In a word, 
you may pronounce that fublime, beautiful 
and genuine, which always pleafes, and takes 
equally with all forts of men. For when 
perfons of different humours, ages, profeffions, 
and inclinations, agree in the Ame joint ap- 
probation of any performance ^ then this 
union of aflent, this combination of fo many 
different judgments, flamps an high and in- 
difputable value on that performance, which 
meets with fuch general applaufe. 

SEC^ 

*< Cecilius, who (as he tells us) had employed all his book, 
<* in defining znd Jhewing what the Sublime is. But fince 
<< this boqk of Ceciliui is loft, I believe it will not be amifs 
<« to venture here a definition of it ^my own way, which 
, <^ may give s^t leaft an imperfeft idea of it. This is the 

S^ manner in which I think it may be defined. The Sub- 
«« lime is a certain force in difcourfe, proper to elevate and 
<« tranfport the fouls and which proceeds, either from gr^n^ 
<« deur of thought " and nobleneft of fentiment, or from 
*' magnificence of words, or an harmonious, lively, and 
«« animated turn of expreiSon ; that is to fay, from any 
<« one of thefe particulars regarded feparately, or what 
«« makes the perfeft Sublime, from thefe three particyilara 
<* join'd together.". 

Tiiusi 



/ 



t 



Scd. 8. en tBe SvBLijji z: 23 

SECTION viir. 

THERE are, if I may fo exprefs it, j^ve 
very copious fources of the Sublime, if we 
prefuppofe an ability of fpealcing well, as a 
common foundation for thefe five forts, and 
indeed without it^ any thing befides will avail 
but little. 

I. The frji ^d moft excellent of thefe is 
a boldnefs and ^andeur in the Thoughts, as I 
have {hewn in my effay on Xenophon. 

II. The Jecond is call'd the Pathetic, or 
the power of raifing the paflions to a violent 
and even enthufiaftic degree 5 and thefe two 
being genuine conftituents of the Sublime, are 

the 

Thus far zxt Boileat^s own words in his 12th reflexion 
on Longinus, where, to illuftrate the preceding definition, 
he fubjoins an example from Racine's Athalie or Ahner^ di 
thefe three particular qualifications of fublimity join'd toge- 
ther. One of the principal ofEcers of the court of Judab 
reprefents to Jeboiada the high-prieft, the exceffive rage of 
Jthaliah againft him and all the Levites; adding, that in 
his opinion^ the haughty princefs would in a fhort time come, 
and attack God even in his fanfiuary. To this the high** . 
prieft, not in the leaft moved, anfwers : 

Celui qui met un frein a la fureur des flots, 
Sait auffi des mechans arr&er les complots, 
Soumis avec refped a fa volonte fainte, 
Je grains Di^u> cher Abner, & n'ai point d'autre crainte. 

(i) Smi 



414 L o N 6 I N u s SeA. S. 

the gifts of nature, whereas the other forts 
depend in fome meafare upon art. 

III. The third confifts in a fkilful applica- 
tion of Figures f ^ wich arc two-fold, of fenti- 
xnent and language. 

IV. The fourth is a noble and graceful 
manner oi Expreffion^ which is not only to 
chufe out fignificant and elegant words, but 
alfo to adorn and embellifh the ftile, by tjic 
^ffiftance of tropes. 

V. The 

(i) Some paffions are vajlly dtflant — &c.] The pathetic 
without grandeur is preferable to that which is great with- 
i. out paiflion. Whenever both unite, the paflage will be ck- 

cellent ; and there is more of this in the book of Johj than 
in any other compofition in the world. Longinus has here 
quoted a fine inftance of the latter from Horner.^ but has 
produced none of the former, or the pathetic without gran- 
deur. 

When a writer applies to the more tender paffions of love 
and pity, when a fpeaker endeavours to engage our affec- 
tions, or gain our efteem, he may fucceed well, tho* there 
• be nothing grand in ^iftft he fays. Nay grandeur would 
fometimes be unfeafonable in fuch cafes, as it flrikes always 
at the imagination. 

There is a deal of this fort of pathetic in the words of 
our Saviour to the poor Jews^ who were imposed upon and 
deluded into fatal errors by the Scribes and Pharifeei^ . who 
had long been guilty of the heavieft oppreffion on the minds 
of the people, " Man. xi. 28-30. Come unto me, all ye 
<* that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you 
«« reft. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I 
<' am meek and lowly in heart, and ye fliall find reft unto 

«* your 



i 



ISed. 8. on th-'B u b 1 1 m e. 25 

f V. The Jifth fourcc of the Sublime^ which 
; compleats all the preceding, is the StruSiure or 
compofition of all the periods, in all poflibic 
dignity and grandeur. 

I proceed next to confider each of thefo 
Sources apart, but muft firft obferve, that, of the 
^Jive^ CeciltM has wholly omitted the Pathetic. 
Now, if he look'd upon the Grand and Pa^ 
thetic as including one another, and in efFedl the 
lame, he was under a roiftake. For ( i ) fome 

paflions 

*< your fouls. Fcf my yoke is cafy, and my burden is 
^ light/' 

So again in Matt, xxiii. 37. after taking notice of the 
cruelties, inhumanities, and murders, which the Jewijh 
nation had been guilty of toward? tbofe, who had exhorted 
them to repentance, or would have recalled them from 
their blindnefs and fuperftition to the praftice of real religion 
and virtue, he on a fudden break? ofF with, 

** O Jerufalem, Jeruftlem, thou that killeft the prophets, 
^« and ftoneft them which are fent unjto thee, how often 
«« would I have gathered thy children together, even as 
<< a hen gathef:eth her chickens under her wipgs, and ye 
«« would not!" 

The expreflion here i^ vulgar and common, the allufion 
to the hen taken from an objefl:, which is daily before our 
eyes, and yet tSiere is as much tendernefs and fignificance 
in it, as can any where be found in the fan^ compafs. 

I beg leave to obferve farther, that there is a continued 
ft rain of this fort of Pathetic in St. PauVs farewel fpeech 
to the Ephefimt elders in A£is xx. What an tSt& it had 
upon hi? audience is plain from v«n:. 36-38. It is fcarceljr 
poffible to read it ferioufly without t^ar^^ 

'^ (2) The 



26 LoNGiNus Se<a* Sf.i 

paiSons arc vaftly diftant from grandeur, and 
are in themfelves of a low degree 3 as lanien- 
tation, forrow, fear; and on the contrary, (2) 
there are many things grand and lofty without 
any paflion ; as, among a thoufand inftanccs, 
we may fee, from what (3) the Poet has faid, 
with fo much boldnefs, of the Abides *. 



(4) to raife 



Huge OJfa on Olympus^ top they ftrovc, . 
And place on OJfa Pelion with its grove ; 
That heaven itfelf thus climb'd, might be aflaiPd. 

But the boldnefs of what he afterwards 
adds, is yet greater. 

Nor would fuccefs their bold attempts have 
faUM, 6?r. 

Among the orators, all panegyrics, and ora- 
tions compofed for pomp and fhow, may be 
grand throughout, but yet are for the moft 
part void of paflion. So that thofe orators, 
who excel in the Pathetic^ fcarcely ever fucceed 

as 

(2) The firft book of Paradife Loft is a continued in- 
ftance of Sublimity without PaiSon. The defcriptions of 
Satan and the other fallen angels are very grand, but ter* 
\ rible. Tkey do not fo much exalt as terrify the imagina- 

tion. See Mr. AddiJon\ obfcrvations, SpeifatfHr, N** 339. 
♦ OdyffiA. v. 3^4. 

(3) Tbi 



k. 



Scd. g. on t^e Sv iLiUt. 27 

as Panegyrijis 'y and thofe, whofe talents lye 
chiefly at Panegyric^ are very feldom able t6 
aiFeift the Pajjions. But on the other hand, 
if Cecilius was of opinion, that the Pathetic 
did not contribute to the Suilime, and on that 
account judg'd it not worth his mention, he * 
is guilty of an unpardowd>le error. For I 
confidently aver, that nothing fo much raifes 
difcourfe, as a fine Pathos feafonably applied. 
It animates a whole performance with uncom- 
mon life and fpirit, and gives mere words the 
force (as it were) of infpiration. 

PART I. 
SECTION IX- 

BUT tho' tht^rfi and moft important of 
thefe divifions, I mean. Elevation of H^ought^ 
be rather a natural than an acquired qualifica- 
tion, yet we ought to fpare no pains to educate 
our fouls to grandeur, and impregnate them 
with generous and enlarged ideas. 
• " But 

(3) The Poit,'\ Longinus^ as well as many other writers, 
frequently ftiles Homer in an eminent manner, the Poet^ as 
if none but he had d«ferved that title. 

(4) Milton has equalled, if not excelled, thefe bold lines 
of Homer in his fight of angels. See Mr. AddiforCs fine 
©blervations upon it, Spectator ^ N^ 333« 

(I) The 



28 LoNGiNUs StS:. g. 

" Bttir how, k will be alk'd, cai> this bo 
^^ done?'* Why, I have hinted in another 
pbce,, that the Sublime is an image refle6!ed 
fsom the inward greatnefs of the foul. Hence 
it conses to pafs^ that a naked thought with-^ 

■\ out 

(i.) Theftknce <AJaiky|r^.] Diid in VirgithArf^ ^]& 
the fame gpeatnefs and ml^y as HonHr*s Ajax. He dtf- 
dains the converfation of the maiij who, to his thinkings 
Bad injuriouily defrauded him orti^^^riAs of Achittesi and 
fte fcorns to hold conference with nAi^\i;^ho, in her owil 
opinion, had Wfely forfook her ; and ^'^her fUent retreat, 
fhews her refentment, and reprimands Mnea\;^ more than 
fhe could have done in a thoufand words. 

Ilia folo fixos oculos averfa tSdieb;it, 

Nee magis incepto vultum fermone movetur, 

Quam fi dura filex, aut ftet Mlarpefia cautes. 

Tandem corripuit fefe, atque inimica refugit 

In nemus luribriferum. — — Mn. vi. v. 46^; 

DiiUainfuUy fhe lookM $ then turning round, 

JShe iix'd her eyes, unmov'd upon the ground. 

And what be looks and fwears, regards no more 

Than the deaf rocks, when the loud billows roar. 

But whirl'd away to (hun his hateful fight. 

Hid in the foreft and the fhades of night. Drydgui 

The Pathetic^ as well as the Grande is exprefled as 
finongly by filence or a bare word, as in a number of periods. 
There is an admirable inflance of it in Shaiefpear^s JuUut 
Cafar^ hOi 4. Sc. 4. The preceding fcene is wrought up 
m a mafterly manner : we fee there, in the trueft light, 
the noble and generous refentment of BrutuSy and the hafty 
choler and as hafty repentance of Caffius. After the recon- 

ciliationt 



Sc<3:. 9. on the Sv BLiMi. 29 

QQt words challenges admiratioti, and ilrikes 
by its grandeur. Soch is ( i ) the Silence of 
Jljax in the Odyffeyy which is undoubtedly 
Hoble, and far above cxpreffion. 

To arrive at excellence like tbisy we muft 

needs 

dliationy. in die beginnifig of Jid next fcene, Brutus ad- 
di«fles himielf to CaJJius. ' 

Bru. O CaJJiuSf I am^fick of many griefe^ 
Caf, Of your philc^phy you make no ufe,^ 

If you give place to accidental evils. 
Bru. No man bears forrow better— —.P^r/Z^'s deadj 
Caf.Uzl Portial—^ 
Bru. She is dead. 
Caf. How Tcap'd I killing when I croft you fo i 

The ftroke is heavier, as it comes unexpe£led. The grief 
is. abrupt, becaufe it is inexpreiSble. The heart is mdted 
in. an inftant, and tears will ftart at once in any audience^ 
that has generofity enough to be moved^ or is capable of 
ibrrow and pity. 

When words are too weak, or colours too feint to repre- 
fent a Pathos^ as the poet will be fdent, fo the painter will 
hide what he cannot (hew. Timanthes^ in his facrifice of 
Ipbigmia^ gave Cakhas a forrowful look, he then painted 
Utyjffh more forrowful, and afterwards her uncle Menelaus 
Vitfa all the grief and concern in his countenance, which his 
pencil was able to difplay. By this gradation he had ex- 
haufted the paffion, and had no art left for the diftrefs of 
her father AgamemMon^ which required the ftrongeft height- 
ning of all. He therefoie covered up hU head- in his gar- 
ment, and left the ipedator to imagine that excefs of an* 
gittflv vrhich colours were unable to expre& 



] 



needs fiippofe that, which is the caufe of it, 
I mean, that an orator of the trae genius muft 
have no mean and ungenerous way of think- 
ing. For it is impoffible for thofc, who have 
groveling and fervile ideas, or are engaged in 
the fordid purfuits of life, to produce any 
thing worthy of admiratio^ and the perufal 
of all pofterity. Grand ana fublime expref- 
: lions muft flow from them and. them alone, 
: whofe conceptions arc ftored and big with 
: greatnefs. And hence it is, that the greateft 

thoughts 

(2) / would accept thefe propofaJs^-liC.'] There is a great 
gap in the original after thefe words. The fenfe has been 
fupplicd by the editors,' from the well-known records of 
tiftory. The propofals here mentioned were made to Jiex^ 
ander by Darius ; and were no lefs than his own daughter, 
and half his kingdom, to purchafe oe^ce. They would have 
contented Parmenioy but were quite too fmall for the exten- 
five views of his mafter., 

Dr. Pearce^ in his note to this pafiage, has infianced a 
brave reply of Iphicrates. When he appeared, to anfwer 
an accufation preferred againft him by Ariftophon^ he de- 
BMinded of him, *' Whether he would have betrayed his 
*« country for a fum of money ? " Ariftophon replied in the 
negative : *' Have I then done, cried Iphicrates^ what even 
*« you would have fcorned to do?" 

There is the fame evidence of a gpnerous heart, in the 
prince of Grangers reply to the duke of Buckingham, who, 
to incfine him to an inglorious peace with the French^ de- 
manded, what he could do in that defperate fituation of 
himfelf and his country ? « Not live to fee its ruin, but die 
•* in the laft dike. 

Thefe 



Sci^h g. on iie Sv BLi ME. 31 

thoughts are always uttered by the greateft 
fouls. When . P^r;;?^;//^ cried, (2) " I would 
*' accept thefe propofals, li 1 vfdiS ^exander *y* 
Alexarder made this noble reply, " And fo 
*^ wQuld I, if I was Parmenio'^ His anfwer 
ihew'd the greatnefs of his mind. 

So (3) the fpace between heaven and earth 
marks out the vaft reach and capacity of ffc- 
mer's ideas, when he fays *, 

(4) While fcarce the Ikies her horrid head can bound. 
She ftalks on earth.— — Mr. Pc^e. 

This 

Thefe fhort replies have more force, flbew a greater foul, 
and make deeper imprei&ons, than the moft laboured dif- 
courfes. The foul feems to roufe and.coUeft itfelf, and 
then darts forth at once, in the nobleft and mod confpicuous 
point of view. 

(3] Longinus here fets out in all the pomp and fpirit of 
Homer. How vaft is thr reach of man's imagination ! and 
what a vaft idea, ** The fpace between heaven and earth,'* 
is here placed before it ! Dr. Pearce has taken notice of fuch 
a thought in the Wifdom of Solomon: ** Thy almighty 
«* word leaped down— it touched the heaven, but it flood 
*« upon the earth, chap, xviii. 15, 16/' 

* Iliad. /. v. 443. 

(4.) See the note to this defcription of difcord, in Mr. Pope*% 
tranflation. Virgil has copied it verbatimy but applied ic 
to Fame. 

Ingrediturque fob & caput inter nubila condit. 

Soon grows the pigmy to gigantic fize. 
Her feet on earth, her forehead in the skies. 

F Sbakifpear 



/ 



22 LoNGiNUS Sed. 9. 

This defcription may with more juftice be 
applied to Homer's genius than the extent of 

difcord. 

But 

Shakefpear without any imitation of thefe great mafiers, 
has by the natural ftreng^ of his own genius, defcribed the 
extent of flander hi the greateft pomp of expreffion, eteva* 
tiou of thought, and fertility of mvention : 

III. (lander, 

Whofe head is (harper than the fword, whofe tongue 
Out-venoms all the worms of M/f, whofe breath 
Rides on the pofting winds, and doth belye 
AU corners of the world. Kings, queens, and flates. 
Maids, matrons, nay the fecrets of the grave 
This viperous flander enters. ' ■■ CymbelinUm 

And Milton's defcription of Satan, when he prepares for 
the combat, is (according to Mr. ifii//^, Spedator N^ 321.) 
equally fublime with either the defcription of difcord in /fr- 
mer, or that of Fame in Virgil: 

*■ Satan alarm'd, 

CoUeAing all his might, dilated flood 
Like Tenariffov Atlas unremov'd : 
His ftature rcach'd the sky, and on his creft 

Sat horror plum'd ■ ' ■ 

• 

(s) The image of Hefiod, here blam'd by Lmginus^ is 
borrowed from low life, and has fomething in it exceedingly 
nafty. It offends the ftomach, and of courfe cannot be ap- 
proved by the judgment. This brings to my remembrance 
the conduft of Milton^ in his defcription of Sin and Deaths 
who arc fct off in the moft horrible deformity. In that of 
5/«, there is indc^ fomething loathfom ; and what ought 
to be painted in thjt m^mier fooner thajo Sin f . Yet the cir- 
cumftances aj;e pick'd o|it «rjf)i the niceft skill, and raife a 
rational abhorrence of fucfa hidfous oljedb. 

The. 



S 



Sec9:. 9* on tJ^ Sv blime. o^ 

But what difparity, what a fall there is in 
(s) Hefiod's defcription of melancholy, if the 
poem of the Shield may be afcribed to him ! 

A 

The one feem'd woman to the wafte, and fair. 
But ended foul in many a fcaly fold. 
Voluminous and vail ! a ferpent arm'd 
With mortal fling : ahout her middle round 
A cry of heU-bounds never ceaiiog barkM 
With wide CerbertoH mouths full loud, and rung 
A hideous peal : Yet when they lift, would creep. 
If ought difturb'd their noife, into her womb, 
And kennel there ; yet there ftill bark'd, and howl'd 
Within, unfcen 

Of Death he iays, 

1 black it ftood as nighty 
Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell. 
And (hook a dreadful dart » 

But Milton's judicioufnefs in fdeSing fuch clrcumfiances^ 
as tend to raife a juft and natural averfion, is no where mor«f 
viiible, than in his defcription of a Lazar-houfey Book i ith. 
An inferior genius might have amufed himfelf, with ex- 
patiating on the filthy and naufeous objefls abounding in ib 
horrible a fcene, and written perhaps like a furgeon rather 
than a poet. But Miltm aims only at the paffions, by 
{hewing the miferies entailed upon man, in the moft affect- 
ing manner, and exciting at once our horror at the woes of 
the affliSsd, and a generous fympathy in ail their afBi&ions. 

■ Immediately a place 

Before his eyes appeared, fad, noifom, dark, 6fr. 

It is too long to quote, but the whole is exceedingly poeticy 
the latter part of itTublime, ibkmn^ and touching. W9 . 

F 2 fiartle 



L o N G I N u s Se£fc. g. 

A filthy moifture from her noftrils flow'd *. 

He has not reprefented his image terrible, 
but loathfom and naufeous. 

On the other hand, with what majefty and 
pomp does Homer exalt his deities! 

Far as a fliepherd from feme point on high 
O'er the wide main extends his boundlefs eye. 
Thro* fuch a fpace of air, with thundering found. 
At one long leap th* immortal couriers bound "f. 

Mr, Pope. 
He 

(lartle and groan at this fcene of miferies, in which the 
whole race of mankind is perpetually involved, and of fome 
of which we ourfelves muft one day be the vidims. 

Sight fo deform, what heart of rock could long 
Dry-ey'd behold ! 

To return to the remark. There is a ferious turn, an 
inborn fedatenefs in the mind, which renders images of ter- 
ror grateful and engaging. Agreeable fenfations are not only 
produced by bright and lively obje£b, but fometimes by fuch 
as are gloomy and folemn. It is not the blue sky, the chear- 
ful fun-(hine, or the fmiling landskip, that give us all our 
pleafure, fince we are indebted for no little ffaare of it to 
the lilent night, the difiant howling wildernefs, the melan- 
choly grot, the dark wood, and hanging precipice. What 
is terrible^ cannot be defcribed too well ; what is difagreeahU^ 
ihould not be defcribed at all, or at leaft (hould be ftrongly 
fliaded. When AptlUs drew the portrait of Antigonus, who 
had loft an eye, he judicioufly took his face in profile, that 
he might hide the blemifh. It is the art of the painter to 
pleafe, and not to ofiend the fight: It is the poet's^ to make 

us 



# 



Sed. 9* on the ^Tjj^Liun. 35 

He meafures the leap of the horfes by the 
extent of the world. And who is there, that 
confidering the fuperlative magnificence of this 
thought, would not with good reafon cry out, 
that if the Jieeds of the deity were to take a 
fecond leap^ (6) the world itfelf would want 
room for it. 

How grand alfo and pompous are thofc 
defcriptions of the combat of the gods ! (7) 

Hcav'n in loud thunders bids the trumpet found. 

And wide beneath them groans the rending ground ||. 

Deep 

us fometimes thoughtful and fedate, but never to raife our 
dillafte by foul and naufeous reprefentations. 

(6) It is highly worthy of remark, how Longinus feems 
here infpir'd with the genius of Homer. He not only ap- 
proves and admires this divine thought of the poet, but imi- 
tates, I had almoft faid, improves and raifes it. The (pace, 
which Homer affigns to every leap of the horfes, is equal to 
that, which the eye will run over, when a fpe&tor is placed 
upon a lofty eminence, and looks towards the fea, where 
there is nothing to obflrud the profpeft. This is fufEciently 
great; but Longinus has faid what is greater than this> for 
he botinds not the leap by the reacli of the fight, but boldly 
avers, that the whole extent of , the world would not afford 
room enough for two fuch leaps. Dr. Pearce. 

* Hefiod. in Scuto Here. v. 26i. t Diad. €. v. 770. 
II Iliad. ^. ver. 388. 

(7) Miltonh defcription of the fight of angels is well able 
to ftand a parallel with the combat of the gods in Homer. 
His Venus and Mars make a ludicrous fort of appearance^ 
after their defeat by Diomed, The engagement between 
Juno and Latona has a little of the air of burlefque. His 

F 3 commen-i 



36 LoNOiNus Sed. 9^ 

Deep in the difmal regions of the dead 
Th' infernal monarch reared his horrid head ; [lay 
Leap'd from his throne, left Neptune^'^'SLicm fhould 
His dark dominions open to the day. 
And pour in light on Plutoh drear abodes, 
Abhorr'd by men, and dreadful ev*n to gods *• 

Mr, Pope. 

What a profpefl: is here, my friend ! (8) The 
earth laid open to its centre ; Tartarus itfelf 

dif. 

commentators indeed labour heartily in his defence, and dif- 
cover fine allegories under thefe Tallies of his fancy. This 
snay fatisfy them, but is by no means a fufficient excufe for 
the poet. Homer's excellencies are indeed fo many and b 
great, that they eafJy incline us to grow fond of thofe few 
blemiflies, which are difcernible in his poems, and to con- 
tend that he is broad awake, when he is aftually nodding. 
But let us return to Milton^ and take notice of the folk>w« 

ing lines : 

' Now ftorming fury rofc 

And clamour, fu£b as heard in heav'n, till now» 
Was never ; arnft on armour claibing bray'd 
Horrible difcord, and the madding wheels 
Of brazen chariots rag'd: dire was the noife 
Of confli£): \ over head the difmal hifs 
Of fiery darts in flaming vollies flew. 
And flying vaulted cither hoft with fire. 
So under fiery cope together rufli'd 
Both battles main, with ruinous aflault 
And inextinguifliable rage: all Heav'n 

Refounded ; and had earth been then, all earth 
Had to her center fhook."' ■■ 

The thought of *• fiery arches being drawn over the ar- 

'' mics 



r 



Std:. g. 0^^ t&e Sv BLiME. 37 

difclofcd to view 3 the wbol^ world in com* 
motionu and tottering on its bafis ! and what 
is more, Heaven and Hell, things mortal and 
immortal, all combating together, and fharing 
the danger of this important batrie. But yet, 
thefe bold reprefentations, if not allegorically 
underftood, are downright blafphemy, and 
extravagantly {hocking. (9) For Homer, in my 
opinion, when he gives us a detail of the 

wounds, 

« mies by the flight of flaming arrows/' may give us fome 
idea of Milton's lively imagination ; as the laft thought, 
which is fuperlatively great, of the reach of his genius : 

I and had earth been then, all earth 

Had to her centre (hook. 

He feems apprehenfivc, that the mind of his readers was 
not ftocked enough with ideas, to enable them to form a 
notion of this battle; and to raife it the more, recalls to their 
remembrance the time, or that part of infinite duratkm, in 
which it was fought^ before lime wa% when this vifible 
creation exifted only in the prefcience of God. 

» Iliad. V. ver. 6i. 

(8) That magnificent defcription of the combat of the 
gods, cannot poflibly be expreffed or difplayed in more con- 
cife, more clear, or more fublime terms, than bere in Len- 
ginus. This is the excellence of a true critic, to be able to 
difcern the excellencies of his author, and to difplay his own 
in illuftrating them. Dr. Pear a. 

(9) Plutarch^ in his treatifc on reading the poets, is of the 
fame opinion with Longinus: " When you read, fays he> 
♦• in Horner of gods thrown out of heaven by one another, 

F 4 « or 



wounds^ the feditions, the punishments^ im- 
prifonments, tears of the deities, with thofc 
evils of every kind, under which they languifh, 
has to the utmoft of his power exalted his 
heroes, who fought at Trcy^ into gods, and 
degraded his gods into men. Nay, he makes 
their condition worfe than human ; for whea 
man iS overwhelmed in misfortunes, death af- 
fords a comfortable port, and refcues hini from 
mifery. But he reprefents the infelicity of the 
gods as everlafting as their nature. 

And 

<' or of gods wounded by, quarrelling with, and fnarllng at 
" one another, you may with reafon (ay, 

" Here had thy fency glow'd with ufual heat, 
«* Thy gods had (hone more uniformly great. 

(lo) The Deity is defcrib'd, in a thoufand paflages of 
Scripture, in greater majefty, pomp, and perfe6tion than 
that in which Homer arrays his gods. The books of Pfalnn 
mnd of Job abound in fuch divine defcriptions. That par- 
ticularly in the xviiith Pfalm, ver. 7--10, is inimitably 
grand : 

*' Then the earth fliook and trembled, the foundations 
•• alfo of the hills moved, and were (haken, becaufe he was 
" wroth. There went up a fmoke out of his noftrils, and 
** fire out of his mouth devoured : coals were kindled at it. 
«« He bowed the Heavens alfo and came down, and dark- 
*« ncfs was under his feet. And he rode upon a Cherub, 
«• and did fly, and came flying upon the wings of the 
«• wind/* 



Se(9:. 9. on tie Sv BLiM e: 39 

And how far does he excel thofe dcfcrip- 
tions of the combats of the gods, whfen he 
fets a deity in his trtle light, and paints him in 
all his majefty, grandeur, and perfedlion; as 
in that defcription of Neptune^ which has been 
already applauded by feveral writers : 

(10) Fierce as he paft the lofty mountains nod,' 
The forefts (hake, earth trembled as he trodc. 
And felt the footftcps of th* immortal god. 
His whirling wheels the glafly furface fwcep ; 
Th' enormous monfters rolling o*cr the deep. 

Gambol 

So again i^/^w Ixxvii, 16—19. 

" The waters faw thee, O God, the waters faw thee, 
*' and were afraid; the depths alfo were troubled. The 
'' clouds poured out water, the air thundered, and thine 
** arrows went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was heard 
" round about; the lightnings fhone upon the ground, the 
«* earth was moved and (hook withal. Thy way is in the 
«' fca, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy footfteps 
** are not known.'* 

And in general, wherever there is any defcription of the 
works of omnipotence, or the excellence of the divine Being, 
the fame vein of fublimity is always to be difcern'd. I beg 
the reader to perufe in this view the following P/almSy xlvl, 
Ixviii, Ixxvi, xcvi, xcvii, civ, cxiv, cxxxix, cxlviii. as alfo 
the iiid Chapter of HabakiuJt, and the defcription of the Son 
of God in the book of Revelations^ chap. xix. 11—17. 

Copying fuch fublime images in the poetical parts of 
Scripture, and heating his imagination with the combat of 
the gods in Homevy has made Miltw fucceed fo well in his 

fight 



40 LoNGiNus Se^ g^ 

Gambol around him on the Watrjr way, 
And heavy whales in aukward meafurcs play ; 
The fea fubfidii^ fpreads a level plain. 
Exults and owns the monarch of the main : 
The parting waves before his couriers fly ; 
The wond'ring waters leave the axle dry *. 

Mr. Pope: 

So 

fight of Angels. If Homer dcfcrvc fuch vaft encomiums 
from the critics, for defcribing Neptune with fo much pomp 
and magnificence, how can we fufiiciently admire thofc di« 
vine defcriptiotns, which Mibm givc& of the Mej^b. 

He on the wings of Cherub rode fublime 

On the cryftallin sky, in faphir thron'd, 

lUuftrious far and wide. — <^-*— 

Before him pow'r divine his way prepared; 

At his command th* up-rooted bills retir'd 

Each to bis place, they heard his voice and went 

Obfequious ; Heav'n his wonted face renewed. 

And with frelh flowrets hill and valley fmil'd. 

* Iliad, y. ver. 18-27— II Gen. i. 3. 

(11) This divine paf&ge has furnifhed a handle for many 
of thofe, who arc willing to be thought critics, to ihew 
their pertnefs and ftupidity at once. Tho* bright as the 
light of which it fpeaks, they are blind to its luftre, and 
will not difcern its Sublimity. Some pretend that Longinus 
never faw this paflage, tho* he has aftually quoted it j and 
that he never read Mofes, tho* he has left fo candid 
an acknowledgment of his merit. In fuch company, 
fome, no doubt, will be furprifed to find the names of Huet 
and Le Chrc. They have examined, taken to pieces, and 
fifted it as long as they were aHe, yet ftill they cannot find 
it futlime. It is Jimpley fay they, and thercfbfe not grand* 

7bef 



Se<9:.9« on the Sublimte. 41 

( 1 1 ) So likewife the Jewi/b Legiflator, no 

ordinary perfon, having conceived a juft idea of 

die power of God, has nobly exprcfs'd it in 

the beginning of his Law II. *^ And God faid, 

*' What ? .i— - Let there be light, and 

^^ there was light. Let the earth be, and the 

^* earth was." 

I 

They have tried it by a law of Horace mifunderftood, and 
therefore condemn it. 

Boileau undcTtQoki its defence, and has gallantly per* 
formed it. He fbews them, that Simplicity of expref&on is fo 
Ar from being oppofed to Sublimity^ that it is frequently the 
caufe and foundation of // (and indeed there is not a page 
in ScHpture, which abounds not with inftances to ftrengthen 
this remark.) Horace\ law, that a beginning Jhould be un^ 
cdomed^ does not by any means forbid it to be grandj fince 
Grandeur confifts not in ornament and drefs. He then 
ihews at large, that whatever noble and majefiicexpreffion, 
devation of thought, and importance of event can contribute 
to Sublimity, may be found united in this paflage* Who-< 
ever has the curiofity to fee the particulars of this difpute, 
may find it in the edition of Boileau's works, in four 
Volumes 12*. 

It is however remarkable, that tho' Monfieur Huet will 
not allow the Sublimity of this paflage in Mo/es, yet he 
extols the following in the xxxiiid Pfalm: *< For he fpake, 
<« and it was done ; he commanded, and it flood &ft/' 
' There is a particularity in the manner of quoting this 
paflage by Longinus, which I think has hitherto efcaped ob- 
fervation. «« God fzid-^fl^at ?— Let there be light, fefr." 
That Interrogation between the narrative part and the words 
of the Almighty himfelf, carries with it im air of reverence 
and veneration. It feems defigned to awaken the reader, 

and 



4Z LoNGiNUs SqQ. 9; 

I hope my £riend will not think me te- 
dious^ if I add another quotatbn from the 
Poet, in regard to his Mortals ; that you may 
fee, how he accuftoms us to mount along 
with him to heroic grandeur. A thick and 
impenetrable cloud of darknefs had on a fud- 
den enveloped the Grecian army, and fuf- 
pended the battle. yi/aXy perplex'd what courfe 
to take, prays thus -f-. 

Accept a warrior's prayer, eternal Jove ; 
This cloud of darknefs from the Greeks remove i 
Give us but light, and let us fee our foes, 
^We'U bravely fall, tho' Jove himfelf oppofe. 

The fentiments of jijax are here patheti-- 
cally exprefs'd : it is Ajax himfelf. He begs 
not for life : a requeft like that would be be- 
neath a hero. But becaufe in that darknefs 
he could difplay his valour in no illuftrious 
exploit, and his great heart was unable to 

brook 

and raife his awful attention to the voice of the great 
Creator. 

Infiances of this majeftiQ fimplicity and unafiefled gran- 
deur, are to be met with in great plenty through the facred 
writings. Such as St. John xi. 43. •' Lazarus, come forth/* 
St. Matt. viii. 3. << Lord, if thou wilt, thou canft make 
« me clean. — - 1 will, be thou clean. And St. Mark iv, 
39. where Chrift hufhes the tumultuous fea into a calm, 

withjk 



StcJl. 9. 0« ?i5^ S U B L I M E. 43 

brook a fluggifti inadtivity in the field of 
i z£&on, he only prays for light, not doubting 

to crown his fall with fome notable perfor- 
; mance, tho' Jove himfelf fhould oppofe ^is 
: efforts. Here Homer y like a brifk and fa- 
\ vourable gale, renews and fwells the fury of 

the battle ; he is as warm and impetuous as his 

heroes are, or (as he fays of HeSior) 

With fiich a furious rage his fteps advance. 
As when the god of battles fliakes his lance. 
Or baleful flames on fome thick foreft cafl:. 
Swift marching lay the wooded mountain waftc : 
Around his mouth a foamy moifture Hands *. 

Yet Homer himfelf fhews in the Odyjfey 
(what I am going to add is necefTary on fe- 
veral accounts) that when a great genius is ii^ 
decline, a fondnefs for the fabulous clings faft 
to age. Many arguments may be brought to 
prove, that this poem was written after the 

Iliady 

with, « Peace {or rather^ be filent) b« fiill/* Thctwatcrs 
(fays a critic. Sacred Clajftcsj p. 525.) heard that voice, 
which commanded univerfal nature into being. They funk 
at his command, who has the fole privilege of laying to that 
unruly element, « Hitherto fhalt thou pafs, and no farther: 
«' Here {hall thy proud waves be flopped." ^ 

t Iliad p. vcr. 645, ♦ Iliad. 0. ver. 605. 

(12) Never 



• X 



44- LoNGiNus Se&. g^ 

Uiad^ but this efpecially, that in the Odyffrf 
he has occafionally mentioned the fequel of 
thofe calamities, which began at T^roy^ as £> 
many epifodes of that &tal war; and that he 
introduces thofe terrible dangers and horrid dif- 
afters, as formerly undergone by his heroes. 
For in reality, the Odyjfey is no more than the 
epilogue of the Iliad. 

There warlike Ajaii^ there Achilles lies, 
Patroclus there, a man divinely wife 5 
There too my deareft fon *. 

It 

• Odyff. y. ver. 109^ 

(12} Never did any criticMin equal, much leTs exoted, 
this of Longinus in Sublimity. He gives his opinion, that 
Homer's Odjiffly^ being the work of his old age, and written 
in the decline of his life, and in every refpe£l equal to the 
Iliad^ except in violence and impetuofity, may be refembled 
to the fitting'fun^ wbofe grandeur cMtinues the janUy tbo* its 
rays retain not the fame fervent beat. Let us here take a 
view of Longinus, whilft he points out the beauties of the 
bed writers, and at the fame time his own. Equal himfelf 
to the moft celebrated authors, he gives them the eulogies 
due to their merit. He not only judges his predecefibrs by 
the true laws and ftandard of good-writing, but leaves pof« 
terity in himfelf a model and pattern of g^us and judg- 
ment. Dr. Pearce. 

This fine comparifon of Homer to the Sun, is certainly 
an honour to Poet and Critic. It is a fine refemblance, 
great, beautiful, and juft. He defcribes Homer in the (ame 
elevation of thought, as Homer himfelf would have fet off 
his heroes. Fine genius will (hew its fpirit, and in every 
age and climate difplay its natural inherent vigour. This 

remark 



Setffe. 9. on the Su BLiut. 45 

It proceeds, I fuppofe, from the fame tea- 
foa, that having wrote the Iliad in the youth 
end vigour of his genius, he has furnifli'd if 
with continued fcenes of aftion and combat ; 
whereas, the greateft part of the Odyjfey is 
fpent in narration, the delight of old-age. 
(12) So that, in the Odyjfey^ Homer may with 
juftice be refembled to the fetting-fun, whofe 
grandeur ftill remains, without the meridian 
heat of hfe beams. The ftile is not fo grand 
and majeftic as that of the Iliadi the Sublimity 

not 

remark will, I hope, be a proper introduction to the follow* 
ing lines of Milton^ where Grandeur, impaired and in de- 
cay, is defcribed by an allufion to the Sun in cclipfe, by 
which our ideas are wonderfully raifed to a conception of what 
it was in all its glory. 

■ he, abo^e the reft 

In fliape and gefture proudly eminent, 
Stood like a tow'r: his form not yet had loft 
All her original brightnefs, nor appeared, 
l,efs than Arch-angel ruin'd, and ttf excefs 
Of glory obfcur'd : As when the Sun new-ris'n 
Looks thro' the horizontal mifty air, 
Shorn of his beams ; or from behind the Moon^ 
In dim eclipfe, difaftrous twilight fheds 
On half the nations, and with fear of change 
Perplexes monarchs ; darken'd fo, yet (hone 
Above them all th* Arch-angel.—- 

That horrible grandeur, in which Miltcn arrays his devils 
throughout his poem, is an honourable proof of the flretch 
of his invention^ and the folidity of his judgment. Tajfo^ in 

his 



46 LoNGiNUs St6k. gi 

not continued with fo much fpirit, nor fo uni- 
formly noble 5 the tides of paffion flow not 
along with fo much profufion, nor do they 
hurry away the reader in fo rapid a current. 
There is not the fame volubility and quick 
variation of the phrafe ; nor is the work cm- 
bellifhed with fo many flxong and expreflive 
images. Yet like the ocean, whofe very 
Ihorcs when deferted by the tide, mark out 
how wide ' it fometimes flows, fo ifomer's ge- 
nius, when ebbing into all thofc j&bulous and 
incredible ramblings of Vlyjfes^ fhews plainly 
how fublime it once had been. Not that I 
am forgetful of thofe ftorms, which are de- 
fcribed in fo terrible a manner, in fcveral parts 
of the Odyjfey ; of Ulyjes's adventures with 
the Cyclop, and fome other inflances of the 

true 

his 4th Cant^f has opened a council of devils, but his de- 
fcription of them is frivolous and puerile, favouring too 
much of old womens tales, and the fantafiic dreams of ig- 
norance. He makes fome of them walk upon the feet of 
beads, and drefles out their refemblance of a human head 
with twifling ferpents infiead of hair, horns fprout upon their 
foreheads, and after them they drag an immenfe length of 
a tail. It is true, when he makes his Pluto fpeak (for he 
has made ufe of the old poetical names) he fupports his 
charader with a deal of fpirit, and puts fuch words and fen- 
timents into his mouth as arc properly diabolical. His Devil 

talks 



Se<3:. 9. on iie Su B LIME. 47 

true Sublime. No ; I am fpeaking indeed of 
old-age, but 'tis the old-age of Homer. How- 
ever it is evident from the whole feries of the 
Odyjfey, that there is far more narration in it, 
than adion. 

I have digreflcd thus far, merely for the fake 
of ihewing, that, in the decline of their vi- 
gour, the greateft genius's are apt to turn 
afide unto trifles. Thofe ftories of fhutting 
up the winds in a bag; of the men in Circe's 
ifland metamorphosed into fwinc, whom (13) 
Zoilus calls, Kttle fqueaking pigs ; of Jupiter^ s 
being nurfcd by the doves like one of their 
young 5 of TJlyJfes in a wreck, when he took 
no fuftenance for ten days ; and thofe incre- 
dible abfurdities concerning the death of the 
fuitors: all thefe are undeniable inftances of 

this 

talks fomewhat like MUt$n% but looks not with half that 
horrible pomp, that height of obfcured glory. 

(13) Zothis."] The mod infamous name of a certain au* 
thor of Thractan extraSion, who wrote a treatife againft 
the Iliad and Odyjfey of Horner^ and intitled it, Homer*s 
Reprimand: which fo exafperated the people of that agt 
that they put the author to death, and facrificed him as it 
were to the injured genius of Homer. His enterprife was 
certainly too daring, his punifliment undoubtedly too fevere. 

Dr. P$arci. 

G (14) Afw 



48 LoNGiNus Scdt. g. 

this in the Odyjfey. (14) Dreams indeed they 
are, but fuch as even Jove might dream. 

Accept, my friend, in further excufc of this 
digreffion, my defire of convincing you, that 
a decreafe of the Pathetic^ in great orators and 
poets often ends in the (15) moral kind of 
writing. Thus the Odyjfey furni(hing us with 
rules of morality, drawn from that courfe of 
life, which the fuitors lead in the . palace of 
UfyJeSy has in fome degree the air of a Comedy^ 
where the various manners of men are inge- 
nioufly and faithfully defcribed. 

SEC- 

(14) After Longtnus had thus fummcd up the imperfec- 
tions of Horner^ one might imagine, from the ufual bitter- 
nefs of critics, that a heavy cenfure would immediately fol- 
low. But the true Critic knows how to pardon, to excufe> 
and to extenuate. Such conduft is uncommon, but juft. 
We fee by it at once the worth of the author, and the 
candor of the judge. With perfons of fo generous a bent, 
his Tranjlator has fared as well as Homer. Mr. Pope'^ 
«^ faults (in that performance) are the faults of a man, but 
<< his beauties are the beauties of an angel." 

EJfay on the Odyjfey. 

(15) The word 7mral docs not fully give the idea of the 
original word «3of, but our language will not furnifli any 
other that comes fo near it. The meaning of the paflagp 
is, that great authors in the youth and fire of their genius, 
abound chiefly in fuch paffions, as are ftrcMig and vehement; 
but in their old-age and decline, they betake themfelves to 
fuch, as arc mild, peaceable, and fedate. At firft they en- 
deavour to move, to warm, to tranfport ; but afterwards to 

amufe. 






Sed. io# on tie SvBLiuE. 

SECTION X. 

L E T us confider next, whether we cannot 
find out fome other means, to infufe Sublimjty 
ixito our writings. Now, as there are no 
fiibjedls, which are not attended by fome ad- 
herent Circumjiance^^ an accurate and judicious 
choice of the moft fuitable of thefe Circum-^ 
fiances^ and an ingenious and (kilful connexion 
of them into one body, muft neceffarily pro- 
duce the Sublime. For what by the judicious 

choice, 

amufe, delight, and pcrfuade. In youth, they ftrike at the 
imagination \ in age, they fpeak more to our reaifon. For 
tho' the pai&ons are the fame in their nature, yet, at difFe* 
rent ages, they differ in degree. Love^ for inftance, is a 
violent, hot, and impetuous pafEon ; Efteem is a fedate, and 
cool, and peaceable afFedion of the mind. The youthful 
fits and tranfports of the former^ in progrefe of time, fubfide 
and fettle in the latter* So a Storm is different from a Gale^ 
tho* both are wind. Hence it is, that bold fcenes of ^dlipn, 
dreadful alarms, affeSing images of terror, and fuch violent 
turns of paiEon, as require a ftretch of fancy to exprefs or 
to conceive, employ the vigour and maturity of youth, in 
which cpnfifts the nature of the Pathetic \ but amufing i;iar- 
rations^ calm defcriptions, dclightfql land^kips, and more 
even and peaceable affeftions, are agreeable in the ebb of 
Jife, and therefore more frequently attempted, and more fuc- 
ccfsfully exprefled by a declining genius. This ij the maral 
kind of wrUing here mentioned, and by thefe particulars i^ 
Hmer's Odyjfej diftin^uiCbed from Jbis Iliad. The 'tta^o^ 

G a ani 



49 



^i LoNGlKtJS Sc€t. lO* 

her foul, her body, her ears, her tongue, her 
eyes, her colour, all of them as much abfent 

from 

The word doux will in no wife exprefs the rage and dif- 
traSion of Sappho^s mind. It is always ufed in a contrary 
fenfe. Catullus has tranflated this Ode almoft verbally, and 
Lucretius has imitated it in his third book. Dr. Pearce. 

The Englijh tranflation I have borrowed from the Spec^ 
iatovy N^ 229. It was done by Mr. Philips ^ and has been 
very much applauded, tho* the fdloWing line. 

For while I gaiM, in tranfport toft, 

And this. 

My blood with gentle horrors thrilrd, 

*rill be liable to the fame cenfure with Boikau*s dtmees tan* 
gueurs. 

A critique on this ode may be fecn in the fame Spectator. 
It has been admired in all ages, and befides the imitation of 
it by Catullus^ and Lucretius, a great refemblance of it is 
rafily perceivable in Horace^ Ode to Lydioy I, i. 0. 13. and 
ift VirgiPs Mneid^ lib. 4. 

Lbnginus attributes its beauty, to the judicious choice of 
thbfe citcumfianccs, which arc the cdnftant, tbo* furprifing 
Attendants lipoA love. It fe certainly a paffion, that has 
more prevalent fenfations ti pleafure ahd pain, and affefts 
the mind with z grefttcdr diverfity of impreffions, than any 
other. 

Love is a fmoke, raised with the fumie of fight; 
Being purgM, a fire fparkling in lovers eyes: 
Being vext, a fea nourifli'd with lovers tears: 
What is it elfe? a madnefs moft difcreet, 
A choaking gall, and a preferving fweet. 

Shake/pear in Romeo and Juliet. 

The 



Scd. lo* on the Sublime, 53 

from her, as if they had never belonged to 
her? And what contrary eflfedis does fhe feel. 

to- 

The qualities of love are certainly very proper for the 
management of a good poet. It is a fubgedl on which many 
may fhine in different lights, yet keep clear of all that 
whining and rant, with which the flage is continually pef- 
tered. The ancients have fcarcely meddled with it in any 
of their tragedies. Shake/pear has fliewn it, in almoft all 
ltd d^rees, by different charaf^ers in one or other of his 
plays. Otway has wrought it up finely in the Orphan^ to 
raife our pity. Dryden cxpreifes its thoughtlefs violence very 
well, in his All for Love. Mr. Addlfon has painted it both 
fuccefsful and unfortunate, with the higheft judgment, in 
his Cato, 

But Adam and Eve^ in Milton^ are the fineil pi£ture of 
conjugal love, that ever was drawn. In them it is true 
warmth of affeftion, without the violence or fury of paffion ; 
a fweet and reafonable tendernefs, without any cloying or 
inflpid fondnefs. In its ferenity and' fun-fhine, it is noble, 
amiable, endearing, and innocent. When it jars and goes 
out of tune, as on fome occafions it will, there is anger and 
refentment. He is gloomy, Jhe complains and weeps, yet 
love has flill its force. Eve knows how to fubmit, and Adam 
to forgive. We are pleafed that they have quarrelled, when 
we fee the agreeable manner, in which they are reconciled. 
They have enjoyedProfperity, and will Ihare Adverfity to- 
gether. And the laff fcene, in which we behold this un- 
fortunate couple is when, H, 

They hand in hand with wandring fleps and flow 
Thro* Eden take their folitary way. 

Taffo in his GlerufaUmme liberata has lofl no opportunity 
of embellifhing his poem with fome incidents of this paffion. 
He even breaks in upon the rules of Epic, by introducing 

G 4 the 



54 LbNOiMtJS Bed:, i O4 

together? She glowsy fhe chills, fhe raws^ 
fhe reafons; now fhe is in tumultSy and now 
flie is ^/;2^ ^Te;^;r. In a word, flie feems not 
to be attacked by one alone, but by a combi- 
nation of the moft violent paffions. 

All the fymptoms of this kind are true 
effeifls of jealous love ; but the excellence of 
this Ode, as I obfcrved before, confifts in the 
judicious choice and connexion of the moft 
notable circumjiances. And it proceeds from 
his due application of the moft formidable in- 
cidents, that the Poelf excels fo much in de- 
fcribing tempefts. (2) The author of the poem 
on the Armafpiam doubts not but thefe lines 
are great and fiill of terror. 

Ye pow'rs, what madnefs ! How on jQiips fo frail 
(Tremendous thought ! ) can thoughtlefs mortals 
fail ? For 

the epifode of OUndo and Sophronia in his 2d Canto: for 
tbiy never appear again in the poem^ and have no fhare in 
the aAion of it. Two of his great perfonages are a Huf^ 
land and TVife^ who fight always fide by fide, and die to- 
getjier. The power, the allurements, the tyranny of beauty- 
is amply difplayed in the coquettifli charafter of Armida, in 
#ic 4^ Canto. He indeed always (hews the efFefls of the 
pa/IiOn in true colours ; but then he does more, be refines 
s^ plays 4jpon them with fine-fpun conceits. He Hourifhes 
i%iks:Ofiid Qfi every little incident, and recalls our attention 
-v'ifrbm the poetn, to take notice of the poet's wit. This 
^'fi'lmight be wdting in the Italian tafte, but it is not nature. 
Homer w^ above ir^ in his fine characters of HiSfor and 

Andro^ 



Sed. 10. on the S u b L i M £• 55 

For ftormy feas they quit the pleofing plain. 
Plant woods in waves, and dwell amidft the main. 
Far o'er the deep (a tracklefs path) they go, 
And wander oceans in purfuit of woe. 
No eafe their hearts, no reft their eyes can find. 
On heav'n their looks, and on the waves their 

mind; 
Sunk are their fpirits, while their arms they rear. 
And gods are wearied with their fruitlefs pray'r. 

Mr. Fop. 

Every impartial reader will difccrn that thefe 
lines are florid more than terrible. But how 
does Homer raile a defcription, to mention only 
one example amongft a thoufand ! 

(3) He burfts upon them all : 



Burfts as a wave that from the cloud impends. 
And fwell*d with tempefts on the fliip defcends; 

White 

Andromache^ Ulyjfes and Penelope. The judicious Virgil has 
rejected it, in his natural picture of Dido. Milton has fol- 
lowed and improved upon his great maflers, with dignity 
and judgment. 

(2) Arijians the Proconnejian is faid to have wrote a poem, 
calfd *A^iJt.eia*Teut9 or, of the aflairs of the Arimafpians, a 
Scythian peojJc, fituated far from any Tea. The lines here 
quoted feem to be fpokea- by an Arimafpian, wondering how 
men dare truft themfelves in (hips, and endeavouring to de- 
fcribe the feamen in the extremities of a ftorm. 

Dr. Pearce. 

(3) There is a defcription of a tempeft in the cviith 
Pfalm,^ which runs in a very high vein of Sublimity, and 

has 



V 



56 LoNGiNus Sefl:. 10. 

White arc the decks with foam ; the winds aloud 
Howl o'er the mafts, and fmg thro* ev*ry (hroud: 
Pale, trcnibling, tir'd the failors freeze with fears, 
And inftant death on ev*ry wave appears *. 

Mr. Pope. 

Aratm 

has more fpirit in it than the applauded deicriptions in the 
authors of antiquity ; becaufe when the ftorm is in all its 
rage, and tlie danger become extreme, almighty Power is 
introduced to calm at once the roaring main, and give pre- 
fervation to the miferable diftreffed. It ends in that fervency 
of devotion, which fuch grand occurrences are fitted to raife 
n the minds of the thoughtful. 

I 

'* He commandeth and raifeth the ftormy wind, which 
lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to heaven, 
they go down again to the depths ; their foul re melted 
away becaufe of trouble. They reel to and fro like \ 
drunken man, and are at their wits-end. Then they cry 
unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out 
of their diftrefles. He maketh the ftorm a calm, fo that 
the waves thereof are ftill. Then are they glad, becaufe 
« they be quiet ; fo he bringeth them unto their deflred 

* haven. Oh that men would praife the Lord for his 

* goodnefs, and for his wonderful works to the children of 
« men ! " 

Shakgfptar has, with mimitable art, made ufe of a florm 
in his tragedy of King Lear^ and continued it through fcven 
fcenes. In reading it, one fees the piteous condition of tkofe 
who are expos'd to it in open air j one almoft hears the wind 
and thunder, and beholds the flafhes of lightning. The anger, 
fiiry, and paffionate exclamations of Lear himfelf fcem to 
rival the ftorm, virhich is as outrageous in his breaft, in- 
flamed and ulcerated by the barbarities of his daughters^ as 
in the elements themfelvcs. Wc view him 

Con- 



Sedtld. on the Sublime. yj 

ArAtm has attempted a refinement ttpon 
the laft thought^ and turned it thus^ 

A flender plank preferves them from their fate f . 

But inilead of increafing the terror, he only 

ieflens 

Cbntending with the fretful elements. 

Bids the wind blow the earth into the fea. 

Or fwell the curled waters *bove the main. 

That things might change, or ceafe : tears his whit6 hair^ 

Which the impetuous blafts with eylefs rage 

Catch in their fury— — 

We afterwards fee the diftrtflcd oW man expofed to all 
the inclemencies of the weather; nature itfelf in huriy and 
diibrder, but he as violent and boiflerous as the ftorm* 

Rumble thy belly-full, fpit fire, ifUkt rain ; 
Nor rain, wind, thunVer, fire are my daughters^ 
I tax not you, ye elements. 

And immediately after, 

■ ■ ■ Let die great gods^ 
That keep this dreadful thund'ring o'er our heads^ 
Find out their enemies now. Tremble, thou wretch. 
That haft within thee undivulged crimes 
Unwhipt of juftice. Hide thee, thou bloody hand^ 
Thou perjur'd, and thou fimular man of virtud. 
That art inceftuous \ caitiff, (hake to pieces, 
That under covert and convenient feeming 
Haft praAis'd on man's life. Cfefe pent-up guilts. 
Rive your concealing continents, and ask 
Thefe dreadful fummoners grace mm 

•a 

The 
* Diad. 0. ver, 624. t Arati Phaenomen. ver. 299. 



4- : 






/ 



» 



58 LoNGiNUs Sed. 10^ 

Icffcns and refines it away; and befides, he fets 
a bound to the impending danger, by faying, 
" a plank preferves them," thus banifhing, their 
dcfpair. But the Poet is fo far from confining 
the danger of his faiiors, that he paints them 
in a moft defperate fituation, while they are 
only not fwallow'd up in every wave, and have 
death before their eyes as faft as they efcape 
it. (4) Nay more, the danger is difcemed in 

the 

The florm (till continues, and the poor old man is forced 
along the open heath, to take fiielter in a wretched hovel. 
There the poet has laid new incidents, to (lamp frefh terror 
on the imagination, by lodging Edgar in it before them» 
The paflions of the old king are fo turbulent, that he will 
not be perfuaded to take any refuge. When honeft Kent 
intreats him to go in, he cries. 

Prithee go in thyfelf, feek thy own eafe ; 

This tempeft will not give me leave to ponder 

On things would hurt me more ■ 

Nay, get thee in; I'll pray, and then I'll fleep m 

Poor naked wretches, wherefoe'er you are, 

Tnat 'bide the pelting of this pitilefs ftorm ! 

How fhall your hoiifelefs heads, and unfed fides. 

Your loop'd and window'd raggednefs, defend you 

From feafons fuch as thefe ? Oh ! I have ta'cn 

Too little care of this ! Take phyfic, pomp, 
Expofe thyfelf to feel what wretches feel, 
That thou mayft (hake the fuperflux to them, 
And fliew the heav'ns more juft. * 

The miferies and diforders of Lear and Edgar are then 
painted with fuch judicious horror, that every imagination 

muft 



« 



Se<9:, 10. on the Sublime. 

the very hurry and confufion of the words ; 
the verfes are tofs'd up and down with the 
ihip, the harihnefs and jarring of the fyl- 
lables give us a lively image of the ftorm, and 
the whole defcription is in itfelf a terrible and 
furious tempeft. 

It is by the fame method, that Archilochm 
has fucceeded fo well in defcribing a wreck ; 
and Demojlbenes^ where he relates * the con- 

fufions 

jnuft be ftrongly afFe£led by fuch tempefts in reafon and 
nature. I have quoted thofe paflages, which have the moral 
reflexions in them, iince they add folemnity to the terror, 
and alarm at once a variety of pafBons. 

(4) Nay more the danger^ &c. — ] I have given this fcn- 
tence fuch a turn, as I thought would be moft fuitable to 
our language, and have omitted the following words, which 
occur in the original : ** Befides, he has forcibly united fome 
<< prepofitions that are naturally averfe to union, and heaped 
" them one upon another, wV Ik ^avajUq. By this meant, 
<« the danger is difcern'd," i^c. 

The beauty Longinus here commends in Homer of making 
the words correfpond with the fenfe, is one of the moft ex- 
cellent, that can be found in compofition. The many and 
refined obfervations of this nature in Dionyftus of Halicaf'- 
najfus^ are an evidence, how exceedingly fond the ancients 
were of it* There fhould be a flile of found as well as of 
words, but fuch a ftile depends on a great command of lan- 
guage, and a mufical ear. We fee a great deal of it in 
Milton^ but in Mr. Pope it appears to perfeSion. It would 
be folly to quote examples, fmce they can poffibly efcape 
none who can read and hear. 
* Orat. de Coronl. 

(5) Thji 



59 



9 



$0 L o N G I N u 8 Sed. lOi 

fufions at Athens^ upon arrival of ill news* 
(5) "It was (Jayi he) in the evening, ©c/* If 
I may fpeak by a figure, they review'd the 
forces of their fubje£t$, and culPd out chc 
flower of them, with this caution, not to place 
any mean, or indecent, or coarfe expreffion in 
fo choice a body. For fuch expreffions are 
like niere patches, or unfightly bits of matter^ 
which in this edifice of grandeur entirely con- 
found the fine proportions, mar the fynunetry, 
«nd deform the beauty of the whole. 

SEC-. 

• r 

(5) The whole paflage in Demoflhenes^s oration runs thus : 

'« It was evening when a courier brought the news to 

** the magiftrates rf the furprifal of Elatea, Immediately 

** they arofc, tho' in the midft of their repaft. Some <rf 

** them hurried away to the Forunty and driving the trades- 

•• men out, fet fire to their (hops. Others fled to advertife 

*' the commanders of the army of the news, and to fum- 

•* mon the public herald. The whole city was full of tu- 

** mult. On the morrow, by break of day, the magiftrates 

•* convene the fenate. You, gentlemen, obey'd the fum- 

<< mons. Before the public council proceeded to debate, the 

«« people took their feats above. When the fenate were 

<< come in, the magiftrates laid open the reafons of their 

«* meeting, and produced the courier, nfe confirmed their 

«^ report. The herald demanded aloud, who would harangue? 

<« No body rofe up. The herald repeated the queftion ieveral 

•< times. In vain : No body rofe up 5 no body harangued ; 

<* tho' all the commanders of the army were there, tho' 

•* the orators were prefent, tho' the common voice <rf our 

■4 << country joined in the petition, and demanded an oration 

!^'^ the public fafety.*' 
-%-•* it) Lucan 



[Sed.ii. on the SvBLiME. 6i 

S E C T I O N XI. 

THERE is another virtue bearing great 
affinity to the former, which they call jimpli^ 
jication s whenever (the topics, on which we 
write or debate, admitting of feveral begin- 
nings, and feveral paufes in the periods) the 
great incidents, heaped one upon another^ at- 
cend by a continued gradation to a fummit 
of grandeur (i). Now this may be done tij, 

enoble 

(i ) Lucan has put a very grand Amplification in the mouth ' 
of Cato: 

Eftne dei fedes, nifi terra, & pontus, & aer, 

Et ccElum, & virtus ? Superos quid quaerimus ultra ? 

Jupiter eft, quodcunque vides, quocunque movebis. 

There Is a very beautiful one in archbifhop TtllotJorCz 
i2th fermon. 

<* 'Tis pleafant to be virtuous and good, becaufe that is 
•* to excel many others: 'Tis pleafant to grow better, bc- 
«' caufe that is to excel ourfclves : Nay, 'tis pleafant even t9 
** mortify and fubdue our lufts, becaufe that is vidory : 'Ti$ 
*^ pleafant to command our appetites and paiEons, and to 
*^ keep them it^^e order, within the bounds of rcafon and 
•* religion, becJHI this is empire.'' 

But no author amplifier in fo noble a manner as St. PauU 
He rifes gradually from Earth to Heaven, from mortal Man 
to God himfelf. •« For all things are yours, whether Paul, 
*' or ApoUos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or ^^ 
<< things prefent, or things to come : all are yours ; arid ye ^^P 
*' are Chrift's, and Chrift is God's." i Cor. iii. 21, 22, ^^ 
Sec alfo Rom. viii. 29, 30. and 38, 39. 



i 

i 

62 LoNGiNUS Sed:. 1 il 

enoble what is familiar, to aggravate what is < 
wrong, to increafe the ftrength of arguments, I 
to fet actions in their true light, or fkilfully 
to manage a paflion, and a thoufand ways 
befides. But the orator muft never forget this 
maxim, that in things however an^lified^ 
there cannot be perfection, without a fenti- 
ment which is truly fublimey unlefs when we 
are to move compaffion, or to make things 
appear as vile and contemptible. But in all 
other methods of Amplification^ if you take 
away the fublime meaning, you feparate as it 
were the foul from the body. For no fooner 
are they deprived of this necef&ry fupport, 
but they grow dull and languid, lofe all their 
vigour and nerves. 

What I have faid now differs from what 
went immediately before. My defign was 
then tQ fhew, how much a judicious choice 
and an artful connexion of proper incidents 
heighten a fubjedt. But in what manner this 
fort of Sublimity differs bova Amplification, 
will foon appear, by exadly dMRing the true 
notion of the latter. 



# 



-^ ■ SEC- 




Sed. 12. o» fi>e Sv BLiMi. 63 

SECTION XII. 

I C A N by no means approve of the de- 
finition, which writers of rhetoric give, of 
Amplification. Amplification (fay they) is a 
form gf words aggrandizing the fubjeB. Now 
this definition may equally ferve for the Sub^ 
limCy the Pathetic^ and the application of 
tropeSy for tbefe alfo inveft difcourfe with pe- ; 
culiar airs of grandeur. In my opinion, they: 
difijsr in.thefe refpedls: Sublimity confifts in 
loftinefs, but Amplification in number ; whence 
the former is often vifible in one fingle 
thought; the other cannot be difcerned, but 
in a feries and chain of thoughts rifing one 
upon another. 

Amplification therefore (to give an exadt. 
idea of it) is fuch a full and complete 
connexion of all the particular circum-: 
fiances inhere/it in the things themfelves,. 
as gives thspi additional ftrength, by dwell-; 
ing fome^me upon, and progreflively 
heightning a particular point/' It difiers 
fi'om Proof in a material article, fince the 
end of a Proof is to eftablifti the matter in: 
debate *********** '^■' 



cc 

fC 
€€ 
C-C 

€C 



H ne 



^ Lqnoinus SeSt. t2. 

[T'be remainder of the author's remarks on Am- 
plification is loji. What comes next is imper^ 
feSt^ but it is evident from what follows y that 
Longinus is drawing a paralkl between Plato 
and DcmoQiicncs.] * * * * ♦ * 
(Plato) may be compared to the ocean, whofe 
waters, when hurrial on by the tide, ovcf-* 
flow their ordinary bounds, and are difiu&d 
into a vafl: extent. And in my opinbn this 
is the caufe, that the orator {Demojlbenes) 
Ariking with more powerfiil might at the pai^ 
iions, is inflamed with fervent vehemence, and 
paffionate ardour ; whilft Plato always gsasre, 
fedate, and majeftic, tho' he never was cold 
or flat, yet fell vaftly ihort of the impetuous* 
thundering of the other. 

And it is in the fame points, my dear TV- 
rentianusy that Cicero and Demojibenes (if we 
Grecians may be admitted to fpeak our opi- 
nbns) differ in the Sublime. The one is at 
the fame time grand and concife, the other 
grand and diffuflve. Our Demojibems^ uttering- 
every fentence with fuch forc^^ecipitation; 
ftrength, and vehemence, that it feems to be 
all fire, and bears down every thing befere it> 
may juftiy be refembled to a thunderbolt or 

an 

(i) r# kavi this iUgrelfm.l Thefe woxtis refer to what 



Sed. 13* M tie Svi^liiIe, 65 

an hurricane. But Cicero^ like a wide Con* 
flagration, devours and fpreads on all fides ; 
his flames are numerous^ and their heat is laft- 
ihg 5 they break out at different times in diffe- 
rent quarters, and are nourifhed up to a raging 
violence by fucceffive additions of proper fiiel. 
I muft not however pretend to jtfdge in this 
cafe fo well as you. But the true feafon of 
applying fo forcible and intenfe a Sublime^ as' 
that of Demojihenes^ is, in the ftrong efforts' 
of difcourfe, in vehement attacks upon the 
paflions^ and whenever the audience are to be^ 
ilruck at once, and thrown into confternation'.' 
And recourfe muft be had to fuch diffufive* 
eloquence, as that of CicerOy when they are * 
to be footh'd and brought over by gentle and 
foft infinuation. Befides, this diffufe kind of 
eloquence is moft proper for all familiar topics, 
for perorations, digreffions, for eafy narrations 
or pompous amufements, for hiftory, for (hort 
accounts of the operations of nature, and many 

other forts. 



SECTION XIII. 

(1) TO leave this digreffioft. Tho' Plato's 
ftile particularly excels in fmoothnefs, and an 

eafy 

Lmgimu had iaid of PUtto in that part of the preceding fee- 

H a tion. 



^6 LoNOiNus Se(9:. 1 3. 

eafy and peaceable flow of the words, yet 
neither does it want an elevation and gran- 
deur (2): and of this you cannot be ignorant, 
as you have read the following pafTage in his 
Republic *. " Thofe wretches (fays he) who 
" never have experienced the fweets of wif- 
*^ dom and virtue, but fpend all their time 
" in revels andi. debauches, fink downwards 
" day after day,*^and make thdr whole life 
*^ one continued i^ies of errors. They never 
*^ have the courage to lift the eye upwards 
*' towards truth, they never felt any the leaft 
** inclination to it. They tafte no real or fub- 
** ftantial pleafure, but refembling fo many 

brutes, 

tlon, which is now almoft wholly loft: and from hence it is 
abundantly evident, that the perfon, whom he had there 
compared with the orator, was Plato. Dr. Peara. 

(2) That archbifhop Tillotfon was pofleflcd in an eminent 
d^ree of the fame fweetnefs, fluency of ftile, and elevated 
fenfe, which are fo much admired in Plato^ can be denied 
by none, who are verfed in the writings of that author. 
The following pafTage, on much the fame fubjed as the 
inftance here quoted by our Critic from PlatOj may be of 
fervice in ftrengthening this aflertion* Ho^ fpeaking of 
perfons deeply plunged in fin. 

" If confideration, fays he, happen to take them at any 
« advantage, and they are fo hard preft by it, that they 
<* cannot efcape the fight of their own condition, yet they 
«* find themfelves fo miferably entangled and hampered in 
«* an evil courfe, and bound fo fatten chains of their own 
*f wickednefS) that they know not how to get loofe. Sin is 

« the 



Se<5h 1 3. on the Sublime. 67 

brutes, with eyes always fix'd on the earth, 
and intent upon their loaden tables, they pam- 
per themfelves up in luxury and excefs. So 
that hurried on by their voracious and in- 
fatiable appetites, they arc continually run- 
ning and kickmg at one another with hoofs 
and horns of fteel, and are embrued in per- 
petual flaughter." 
This excellent writer, if we can but refolve 
to follow his guidance, opens here before us 
another path, befides thofe already mentioned, 
which win carry to the true Sublime. — And 
what is this fath ? — Why, an imitation and 
emulation of the greateft orators and poets 

that 

«« the faddeft flavery in the world; it breaks and finks 
<< mens fpirits, and makes them fo bafe and fervile» that 
•' they have not the courage to refcue themfelves. No fort 
<< of flaves are fb poor-fpirited, as they that are in bondage 
** to their lufts. Their power is gone ; or if they have any 
«« left, they have not the heart to make ufe of it. And 
•« tho' they fee and feel their mifery, yet they chufc rather 
*« to fit down in it, and tamely to fubmit to it, than to 
«• make any refolute attempts for their liberty/* And after- 

«v^ards " Blind and miferable menf that in defpite of 

'« all the merciful warnings of God's word and providence, 
<« will run themfelves into this defperate ftate, and never 
** think of returning to a better mind, till their retreat is 
«t difficult, almoft to an impoffibility/' 29th Sermon ift 
Vol. Folio. 
• Plato, 1. 9. de Rep-Tp. 586. edit. Steph. 

H 3 (3) This 



^9 LoNGiNus jSed. 13, 

that ev.cr flouriftied. And let this, my friend, 
be our ambition y be this the fix'd and la0:ing 
fcope of all our labours. 

For hence it is, that numbers of inxitators 
are ravifti'd and traqfported by a fpirit np^ their 
own, (3) like the Pythian Priefteifs, when (he 
approaches the fccred tripod. There is, if 
fame fpeaks true, a chafin in the earth, from 
whence exhak divine fpaparationsy which im- 
pregnate her pn a fudden with the infpiration 
of her god, and caufe in her the utterance of 
oracles and prediSions, So, from the fublime 
fpifit of the ancients, there arife fome fine 
pfjBuyia, like vapours from the facred vents, 
whjch work themfelves infenfibly into the 
^jreafts of imitators, and fill thofe, who natu« 
rally are not of a towering geaius,vwith the lofty 

ide^^ 

(3) T^is parallel or coipparJion drawn between the Pjt- 
thlan pri^ft^r^ of Apolh^ and imitators of the beft authon, 
is happily invented, an4 quite cooipletc. Nothing can bp 
xaott beautiful, mors analogous, more expreiSve; It wsif 
tjje quftom for the Pythian to fit on the tripod, till fhe wa^ 
rapt into divine phrenzy by thp operation of effluvia ifliui^ 
out of the clefts of the earth. In the iame mamie^, fiiyt 
f^onginus, they who imitate the beft writers, %m to be 
ipfpirec| by thofe whom they imitate, and to be a6biated by 
their fublime fpirit. In this comparifon, thofe divine V^itfra 
are fet on a level almoft with the gods; they have cqpal 
power attributed to tbem» with the deity prefiding over oia*^ 

cteHi 



SG6k. i3« on tie Sv^LiidE. 69 

ideas and fire of others. Was Herodotus alone 
tlie conftant imitator of Homer? No: (4) 
Stef chorus atid Archilocbus imitated him more 
than Herodotus*, but Plato more than all of 
them ; who, from the copbus Homeric foun-* 
tain^ has drawn a thoafand rivulets to cheriih 
and improve his own produdions. Perhaps 
there might be a neceffity of my producing 
fome exampte$ of this, had not Ammomus 
done it to my hand. 

Nor is fuch proceeding to be look'd upon as 
plagiarifin, but, in methods confident with the 
nicefl honour, an imitation of the findl pieces, 
or cc^ying out thofe bright ordinals. Neither 
do I think, that Plato would have fo much 
embelliihed his philofophical tenets with the 
florid expreflions of poetry, (5) had he not 

been 

des* and the tSkSt, of iixtvt opcraticns on their imitators i» 
honoured with the title of a divine fpirit. Dr. Pearce. 

(4) Stificberus, a noble poet, inventor of the Lyric Chorus^ 
was bom, according to Suidas^ in the 57th Ofytripiad. 
^InmiUM IttJKt. Or€t. L x. c. i . fays thus of him : «< If 
<* he had kept in due bounds, h^ feems to have been able 
<< te come the neareft to a rivaUhip with Horner*^ Idem. 

(5) Plato in his younger days had an inclination to poetry, 
and made fbme attempts in tn^y and epic, but finding 
them unabk to bear a parallel with the verfes of HomtTy ho 
threw them into the fire, and aljured that fort of writing, 
in which be was ooavinoed be muft always remain an in* 

H 4 ferior: 



yo L0NGINU8 Sed. 14. 

been ambitious of entering the lifts, like a 
youthful champion, and ardently contending 
for the prize with Horner^ who had a long time 
engrofs'd the admiration of the world. The 
attack was perhaps too rafh, the oppofidon 
perhaps had too much the air of enmity, but 
yet it could not fail of fome advantage ; for, as 

Such brave contention works the good of men. 

A greater pf i?cf than the glory and renown 
of the ancients can never be contended for, 
where vidlory crowns with never-dying ap- 
plaufe ; when even a defeat, in fuch a com* 
petition, is attended with honour. 

SECTION XIV, 

I F ever therefore we are engaged in a work, 
which requires a grandeur of ftile and exalted 

fenti- 

ferior : However the ftile of his profe has a poetical fweet* 
nefs, majefty, and elevation.. The' he defpaired of equalling 
Homer m his own way, yet he has noUy fucceeded in 
another, and is juftly efteemed the Homer of philoibphers. 
Cicero was fo great an admirer of him, that he faid, << If 
*^ J^P^ter converfed with men, he would talk in the lan- 
*' guage of Plato** It was a common report, in the ag^ 
he lived, that bees dropt honey on his lips, as he lay in the 
cradle. And it is faid, thatj the night before he was placed 

under 



1 



Bed:. 14. on the Sv BLiui. 71 

fentiments, would it not then be of ufe to raifc 

in ourfelves fuch reflexions as thefe? How 

in this cafe would Hopter^ or Plato^ or Demof- 
thenesy have raifcd their thoughts ? Or if it be 
hiftorical, — — How would Thucydides? For 
thefe celebrated pcrfons, being propofed by us 
for our pattern and imitation, will in fome de- 
gree lift up our fouls to the flandard of their 
own genius. It will be yet of greater ufe, if 
to the preceding reflexions we add thefe— Vfhat 
would Homer or Demojihenes have thought of 
this piece ? or, what judgment would they 
have pafs*d upon it ? It is really a noble en- 
terprife, to frame fuch a theatre and tribunal, 
to fit on our own compofitions, and fubmit 
them to a fcrutiny, in which fuch celebrated 
heroes mufl: prefide as our judges, and be at 
flie fame time our evidence. There is yet 
another motive, which may yield rnofl: power- 
ful incitements, if we ask ourfelves, — What 

charader 

under the tuition of Socratesj the philofopher dreamed he 
had embraced a young fwan in his bofom, who, after his 
feathers were full grown, ftretched out his wings, and foared 
to an immenfe height in the air, finging all the time with 
iilexpreffible fweetneis. This fhews at leaft, what a great 
ojHnion they then entertained of his eloquence, fince they 
thought its appearance worthy to be ufhered into the world 
widi omens and prognoftics. 

* Hefiod. in operibus & diebusj ver. 24. 

(I) FirgU 



j$ LoNGiNUS Seft. I j 

eharafter will pofterity form of this work, and 
of me the author ? For if any one, in the mo- 
Hients of cofnpofing, apprehends that his per- 
formance may not be able to furvive him, the 
produd:ions of a foul, whofe views are fo ftioct 
and confined, that it cannot promife itfelf the 
efteem and applaufe of fuccc^ing ages, mull 
jieeds be imperfedt and abortive* 

SECTION XV. 

VISIONS, which by fome arc called 
images, contribute very much, is^ dear$fi 
yfiuth, to the weight, magnificence, and force 
of compofitioBS. The name of an image is 

generally 

(i) Ttrgtl refers to this paflage in his fourth Mnii4^ 
Ter. 470. 

Aut Agamemnonis fcenb s^itatus Oreftes^ 
Armatam facibus matrem Ic ferpentibus atris 
Cmp^ fugit, ultricefque fedent in limine Dirae. 



1 



Or mad Orefte$ when his mother's ghoft 

Full in his face infernal torches tofs'd. 

And Akook her fnaky locks : he (huns the fight, 

FKes o*er the ft^, furprisM with mortal fright, 

The Furies guard the door, and intercept his flight. 

Drydetim 



\ 



•« There is not (fays Mr. Addifm, B^ai^r N^42i.> a 
<< fight in nature fo mortifyii^, as that of a diftraAed per« 



h - 



Se($. 15* en tj^e Subline. 73 

generaUy gwen to my i4eji, howeyer repre- 
feoted in the mind, which b coaimunicable 
to others l^ difcourfe ; but a m^e particular 
fenfe of it has now pjreyailed : " When tjic 
^^ imagination is fq warm'd and afj^ded^ tl^at 
•^ you fccm to behold yourfelf the very things 
•^ you are defcribing, and to difplay them to 
f* the life before the eyes of an au4i?nce.'* 

You c4;inot be ignorant^ th^ rhetorical 9n4 
poetical images have a different intent. The 
defign of a poetical image is furprife, tljat of 
a rhetorical is pcrfpicuity. Hov^evcr jtp ifljpve 
and ftrlke the imagination is a defign common 
to both. 

(;) Pity thy offspring, mother, nor provoke 

Thofc 

• ■ ■ • 

« Ton, when his Ji^^iiuitio^ is troubli^, 9n^ hiB whole 
<* fo^l diforder'd and confus'd: Batyton in luios ^ po^ ib 
*« melancholy a fpcSaple/* 

The diftra6lion of Orejies^ after the murder of hi|^ mothery 
18 a fine reprefentation in Euripidesj becauTe it is natural. 
The confcioufnefs of what he has done, is uppermoft in his 
thoughts, diforders his fancy, and q^foun^ his xt%Sfm* flo 
is flrongly apprehenfive of divine vengeance^ ^ thie vioJ^iK^f 
of his fears places the avenging Furies before his eyes. When-^ 
fver the mii^d it harrafled by the ftings of confcience, or 
the horror9 of guilt, the fenies are liable to infinite delu* 
lions, and ftartle at hideous imaginary monfters. The poet, 
who can touch fucb incidents with happy dextierit}}, and 
p^iqt fuch images of confiefrnation, will infallibly wor^ upon 
the minds of others. This is what Lon^inHs compiMiQdf; i^ 

Eurifidefi 



^^ LoNGiNUs Sedt* 15^ 

Thofe vengeful Furies to torment thy fbn. • 

What horrid fights! how glare their bloody eyes ! 

How twifting fivakes curl round their vcnom'd 
heads ! 

In deadly wrath the hifling monfters rife. 

Forward they fpring, dart out, and leap around 



me *, 



And 



Euripides; and here it mufi be added, that no poet in this 
branch of writing can enter into a parallel with Shake^ear, 
When Macbeth is preparing for the murder of Duncan^ 
bis imagination is big with the attempt, and is quite upon 
the rack. Within, his foul is difmayed with the horror of 
fo black an cnterprife ; and every thing, without, looks dif- 
qial and affrighting. His eyes rebel againft his reafon, and 
make him ftart at images that have no reality. 

Is this a dagger which I fee before roc. 

The handle tow'rd my hand ? come let me clutch thee \ 

1 have thee not— and yet I fee thee ftill. 

. . • • • • 

He then endeavours to fummon his reafon to his aid, 
and convince himfelf that it is mere chimera; but in vain, 
the terror ftamped on his imagination will not be fhook off. 

I fee thee yet, in form as palpable. 
As this which now I draw 

Here he makes a new attempt to reafon himfelf out of 
the delufion, but it is quite too ftrong. 

I fee thee ftill. 

And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood. 
Which was not fo before. — Therc*s no fuch thing—- 

The delufion is defcribcd in fo skilful a manner, that the 
audience cannot but fhare the confternation, and ftart at the 
vifionary da^er. 

The 



Se<a. 15. on th SvBhiUE. 75 

Apd again, 

Alas I— flic'll kill me!— whither Ihall I fly f ? 

The poet here aiSually faw the furies with 
the eyes of his imagination, and has com- 
peird his audience to fee what he beheld him- 

felf. 

The genius of tlie poet will appear more furprifing, if we 
confider how the horror is continually worked up, by the 
method la which the perpetration of the murder is repre^ 
fented. The contraft between Macbeth and his wife is juftly 
•charaflCTifed, by the hard-hearted villany of the one, and 
the qualms of remorfe in the other. The leaft noife, the 
very found of their own voices is ihocking and frightful to 
both: 



Hark! peace! 



It was the owl that fhriekM, the fetal bell-man, ^^ 
Which give? the ftern*ft gQod-night— he is aboUtit^» 

y 

And again immediately after, 

■ Alack ! I am afraid they have awak'd. 
And 'tis not done: th'attempt» and not the deed. 
Confounds us — Hark! — I laid their daggers ready. 
He could not mifs them . 

The beft way to commend it, as it deferves, would be, to 
quote the whole fcene. The fa6l is reprefented in the fame af- 
feding horror, as would rife in the mind at fight of the adual 
commiffion. Every fingle image feems reality, and alarms 
the foul. They feize the whole attention, ftiffen and be- 
numb the fenfe, the very blood curdles and runs cold, thro* 
the flrongeft abhorrence and detefbtion of the crime. 

♦ Euripid. Oreft. ver. 255. 

f Euripid. Iphigen. Taun ver. 408. 

(2) Tbii 



y6 LaNGlNUs Se6L r j» 

iclfl Euripides therefore has laboiir*d very 
much in his tragedies to defcribe the two paf« 
fions of madnefs and love, and has fucceeded 
Ihuch better in thefe, than (if I am not tnif^ 
taken) in any other. Sometimes indeed hA 
boldly aims at images of different kinds« For 
tho' his genius v^as not naturally great, yet 
in many infknces he even forced it up to die 
trtie ipkit of tragedy ; and that he may always 
rife where Ms fubjcdt demands it (to borroW 
an allufion from the Poet) ♦ 

Lafh'd by his tail his heaving fides incite 
His courage, and provoke himfclf for fight. 

The 

^Ti Thb paflage, in all probability, is taken from a tra-^ 
gCG V of Euripides^ named Phaethon, which is entirely loft* 
Ovid had certainly an eye to it in his Met. L ii* when he 
puts thefe lines into the mouth of Phctbusy refigning the 
chariot of the Sun to Phaitbon : 

Zonarumque trium contentus fine, polumque 
Effugit auftralem, jundamque aquilonibus atfton: 
Hac fit iter : manifefta rotas vefiigia cernes. 
Utque ferant aequos & ccelum & terra calores^ 
Nee preme, nee fummum molire per xthera currum* 
Altius egrefiiis, cceleftia te£la cremabis; 
Inferius terras: medio tutiffimus ibis. 

Drive 'era not on direftly through the skJeSj 

But where the Zodiac*^ winding circle lies. 

Along the midmoft Zone ; but fally forth. 

Nor to the diftant Snab^ nor ftonny Nmhi 

Thf 



Se£t.is* Oft the SvBLihti^^ ^n 

The foregoing aflertion i$ evident from that 
pafTage^ where Sol delivera the reins of his 
chariot to Fbaeton : % 

(i) Drive on, but cautious (hun tfee Ubyan air; 
That hot unmoiftcn'd region of the flcy 
Will drop thy chariot* — -— t 

And a little after. 

Thence let the Pleiads point thy wary conrfe f. 
Thus Ipoke the god. Th' impatient youth with 

haile 
Snatches the reins, and vault-s into the feat. 
He ftarts ; the courfers, whom the lafhing whip 

Excites, 

The horfes boofs a beaten track will fliow : 

But neither mount too high, nor fink too low ; 

That no new ilres or heav'n, or earth infeft; 

Keep the mid- way, the middle way is beft. Jddifon. 

The Sublimity J which Ovid here borrowed from Euri'^ 
fides^- he has diminifhed, almoft vitiated, by Flourijhes. A 
fublimer Image can no where be found than in the fong of 
Dibm^b^ after Sifera*s defeat, {Judges v. 28.——) where the 
vain-^driou8 boaftft of Si/era's mother, when expe^ng hit 
return, and, as Qie was confident, his vifbrious return^ 
are defcribed: 

« The mother of Sifera look'd out at a window, and 
« cried through the lattefs. Why is his chariot fo long in 
«< coming ? why tarry the wheels of his chariots ? Her wife 
<< ladies anfwered her; yea, flie returned anfwer to herfdf : 

" Have 

• Iliad, c^. ver. 170, t Two fragments of Euripides. 



78 LoNGiNus Se<a*i5. 

Excites, outltrip the winds, and whirl the car 
High thro* the airy void. Behind, the fire. 
Borne on his planetary fteed, purfues 
With eye intent, and warns him with his voice. 
Drive there! — now here!— here! turn the chariot 
here ! 

Who would not fay, tjiat the foul of the 
poet mounted the chariot along with the 
rider, that it fhar'd as well in danger, as in 
rapidity of flight with the horfes ? For, had, 
he not been hurried on with equal ardour 
thro' all this ethereal courfe, he could never 
have conceived fo grand an image of it. 

There 

•< Have they not fped ? have they not divided the prey, to 
«* every man a damfcl or two ? to Sifera a prey of divers 
** colours, a prey of divers colours of needle-work, of divers 
« colours of needle-work on both fides, meet for the necks 
•< of them that take the fpoil ? Dr, Pearce. 

(3) The Cajfandra of Euripides is now entirely loft. 

{4) The following Image in Milton is great and dregdful. 
The fellen angels fired by the fpeech of their leader, are too 
violent to yield to his propofai in words, but afTent in a 
manner, that at once difplays the art of the poet, gives the 
reader a terrible idea of the Men angels, and imprints a 
dread and horror on the mind. 

He fpake; and to confirm his words, out flew 
Millions of flaming fwords» drawn from the thighs 
Of mighty Cherubim : the fudden blaze 
Far round illumined hell ; highly they rag'd 
Againft the Higheft, and fierce with grafped arms 

Claft'd 



Sc<9:. I5» on the Sublime. 

There are fome patellel Images in his {i) Caf- 
fandra. 

Ye martial Trojans^ &c. 

Mfchylus has made bold attempts in noble 
and truly heroic Images ; as, in one of his tra- 
gedies, the feven commanders againft Thebes^ 
without betraying the leaft fign of pity or re- 
gret, bind thcmfelves by oath not to furvive 
Et^ocles : 

(4) The feven, a warlike leader each in chief. 
Stood round ; and o*er the brazen fhield they flew 
A fallen bull ; then plunging deep their hands 

Into 

Clafli'd on their founding (hields the din of war. 
Hurling defiance tow*rd the vault of heav'n. 

How vehemently does the fury of Northumberland exert it- 
felf m Shake/pear^ when he hears of the death of his fon 
Hotfpur. The rage and diftradion of the furviving Father 
{hews^ how important the Son was in his opinion. Nothing 
muft be, now he is not : nature itfelf muft fall with Percy. 
His grfcf renders him frantic, his anger defperate. 

Let heav'n kifs earth ! now let not nature's hand 
Keep the wild flood confin'd : let order die. 
And let this world no longer be a flage 
To feed contention in a lingering aft : 
But let one fpirit of the firft-born Cain 
Reign in all bofoms, that each heart being fet 
On bloody courfes, the rude fcenc may end. 
And darknefs be th^ burier of the dead. 

1 (5) Tollius 



79 



So LONGINUS Sc€t. I^. 

Into the foaming gorie, i^ith oaths invoked 
Marsy and Enyoy and blood-thirfling terror. 

Sometimes indeed the thoughts of this au- 
thor are too grofs, rough, and unpolifhed ; yet 
Euripides himfelf, fpurr'd on too fkft by emu- 
lation, ventures even to the brink of like 
imperfc<aions. In Mfchylus the palace of Ly^ 
curgus is furprifingly affeifted by the fudden 
appearance of Bacchus : 

The frantic dome and roaring roofs convuls*d^. 
Reel to and fro', inftinft with rage divine. 

Euripides 

(5) Tollius is of opinion, that Longinus blames neither 
the thought of Euripides nor JEfch^lus^ but only the word 
fidLKX^^eiy which, he fays, has not fo much JVecctncfi, noF 
raifes fo nice an idea^ as the word avfjiCAnxive!. Dr. Pearcg 
thinksj Mfchylus is cenfured for making the palace inftind 
with Bacchanalian fury, to which Euripides has given a 
fofter and fweeter turn, by making the mountain only re- 
fle£l the cries of the Bacchanals. 

There is a daring Image^ with an expreffion of a harfli 
found, on account of its antiquity^ in Spen/er*s Fairy ^ieen, 
which may parallel that of Mfchylus : 

She foul blafphemous fpeeches forth did caff, 
And bitter curfes horrible to tell ; 
That e'en the temple wherein Ihe was placM^ 
Did quake to hear, and nigh afunder braft. 

Milton fhews a greater boldnefs of fiftion than cither 
Euripides or Mfchylus^ and tempers it with the utmoft pro- 
priety, when at Addmh eating the forbidden fruit, 

Earib 



Sed^. 15* on tie SvBLiME. St 

Euripides has the fame thought^ but he has 
turn'd it with much more foftnefs and pro- 
priety : 

The vocal mount in agitation Ihakes (5), 
. And echoes back the Bacchanalian cries. 

Sopbocks has fucceeded nobly in his Images^ 
when he defcribes his Oedipus in all the ago- 
nies of approaching death, and burying him- 
jfelf in the midft of a prodigious tempeft; 
when he gives us a fight of the (6) apparition 
of AcUlles upon his tomb, at the departure 

Earth trembled from her entrails^ as again 

In pangs, and nature gave a fecond groan ; 

Sky low'rd, and muttering thunder, fome fad drq» 

Wept, at compleating of the mortal fin. 

(6) The tragedy of SopbocUs^ where this apparition is 
defcribed, is entirely loft. Dr. Pearce obferves, that there 
is an unhappy imitation of it in the beginning of Sineca*s 
Troades; and another in Ovid. Meiam. lib. xiii. 441. neat 
without fpirit, and elegant without grandeur. 

Ghofts are very frequent in Englijh tragedies ; but ghofts, 
as wdl as fairies, feem to be the peculiar province of Shake* 
Jptar. In fuch drcUs none but he could move with dignity. 
That in HamUt is introduced with the utmoft ibkmnity, 
awful throughout, and majeftlc. At the appearance of Ban'- 
quo in Macbeth (A£l 3. Sc. 5.) the Images are fet ofF in the 
ftrongeft expreffion, and flrike the imagination with high 
degrees of horror, which is fupported with furprifing art 
through the whole (bene. 

I a There 



F4. LoNGiNus Se<9:. 1 5. 

So Hyperidesj when he was accufed of 
paffiftg an illegal decree, for giving liberty 
to flaves, after the defeat of Cbaronea 5 *' It 
** was not an orator, faid he, that made 
^ this decree, but the batde of Cbaronea y 
At the fame time, that he exhibits proc^ 
of his legal proceedings, he intermixes an 
Image of the battle, and by that ftroke of art, 
quite pafles the bounds of mere perfoafien. It 
is natural to us, to hearken always to that, 
which is extraordinary and furprifing ; whence 
it is, that we regard not the proof, fo much as 
the grandeur and luftre of the Image^ which 
quite eclipfes the proof itfelf. This bias of the 
mind has an eafy folution; fince, when two 
fuch things are blended together, theftrong- 
cr will attraft to itfelf all the virtue and efficacy 
of the weaker, 

Thefe obfervations will, I fancy, be Effi- 
cient, concerning that SuMime^ which belongs 
to the Senfe, and takes its rife either from an 
Elevation of Thought,, a choice and connexion 
of proper Incidents, Amplification, Imkatioo^ 
or Tmagcs. 



PART 



$e^ i6. en th^ $ u B ];. I M t. ^^ 

PART II. 

I f 

THE Pathetic, ^hicb the author. Secft. viii. 

laid down- for the fecqnd foi^rce of the Sub^ 

lime J is omitted berCy becaufe it was referred 

for a.dijiinB treatife^ See Seft, xliv. with 

the note. 

P A R.T IIL 
SECTION XVI. , 

THE topic that comes next in order, ^ 
that of Fibres \ for thefe, when judicioufly 
ufed. conduce not a little to Greatnefs. But 
iince it would be tedious, if not infinite la- 
bour, exadtjy to defcribe all the Ipecies of 
them, I (haU inftancc only foipc few of thofc, 
which contribute moft to the elevation of 
j^e ftile, on purpofe to fhew, that we lay 
not ]a greater flxefs upon them than is really 
their due. 

Demofthenes is producing proofs of his up- 
right behaviour, whilft in publick employ. 
Now which is the moft natural method of 
doing this ? (" You were not in the wrong, 
** AthenianSy when you courageoufly ventured 
** your lives, in fighting for the Hberty and 

1 4 ** iafety 



L o N G I N u s Sed. i6* 

" fafcty of Greece^ of which you have do- 
" meftic illuftrious examples. For neither 
*' were they in the wrong, who fought at Afc- 
" rathQTiy who fought at Salami s^ who fought 
" at Plat a a.'') Demoftbenes takes another 
courfe, and fiU'd as it were with fudden 
inlpiration, and tranfpbrtdl by a god-like 
warmth, he thunders out an oath by the 
champions of Greece *^ " You were not in 
" the wrong, no, you were not I fwear, by 
" thofe noble fouls, who were fo lavifti of 
^' their lives in the field of Marathon *, i«fc/* 
He feems, by this figurative manner of fwear- 
ing, which I call an Apojirophi^ to have dei- 
fied their noble anceftors ; at the fame time 
inftru(5ling them, that they ought to fwear 
by perfons, who fell fo glorioufly, as by fo 
many gods. He ftamps into the breafts of 
his judges, the generous principles of thofe 
applauded patriots 5 and by transferring what 
was naturally a proof, into a foarjing ftrain of 

the 

* Orat. Dc Corona, p. 1 24. cd. Oxon. 

(0 The obfcrvations on this oath are judicious and folid. 
But there is qm infinitely more folcmn and awful in Jere- 
miah xxii. 5, 

" But if ye will not hear thefe words, I fwear by myfelf, 
•< faith the Lord, that this houfe (hall became a dcfolation^'* 
5fe Geneft$ xxii. 16, and Hebrews vi. 13. 

(2) EupoHs 



Sc(9:.i6. on the Sublime. 87 

the Sublime and the Pathetic, ftrengthened 
by ( I ) fuch a folemn, fuch an unufual and re- 
putable Oath, he inftils that balm into their 
minds, . which heals every painful reflexion, 
and affuages the fmart of misfortune. He 
breathes new life into them by his artful 
encomiums, and teaches them to fet as great 
a value on their unfuccefsful engagement 
with Philip, as on the vidories of Marathon 
and Salamis. In fhort, by the fole applica- 
tion of this Figure^ he violently feizes the fa- 
vour and attention of his audience, and 
compels them to acquiefce in the event, as 
they cannot blame the undertaking. 

Some would infinuate, that the hint of this 
oath was taken from thefe lines of (2) Eupolis. 

No ! by my labours in that glorious' f field. 
Their joy fhall not produce my difcontent. 

(3) But the grandeur confifts not in tlie bare 
application of an oath, but in applying it in 

the 

{2) Eupolis was an Athenian writer of comedy, of whom 

nothing remains at prefent, but the renown of his name. 

Dr. Pearce. 
f Marathon. 

(3) This judgment is admirable, and Longinm alone fays 
more, than ali the writers on rhetoric, that ever examined 
this paflage of Demofthenti. ^in£iilian indeed was very 

fenfible 



88 LotffifWUB Scft. i6^ 

the proper place, in a pertinent manner, at 
the exafteft time, and for the ftrongeft rea- 
fons. Yet in RupoHs there is nothing but an 
oath, and that addrefs'd to the Atheniflm at 
a time they were flu(h'd with conqueA:, and 
confequently did not require eonfolation. Be? 
fides, the poet did not fwear by heroes, whom 
he had before deified himfelf, and thereby 
raife fentiments in the audience worthy di 
fuch virtue ; but deviated from tho£b illufirir 
ous fouls, who ventored tfaei^ lives for their 
country, to fwear by an inanimate objeift, the 
tmtde. In Demojibenes^ the Oath is addfefs'd 
to the' vanquished, to the end that the defeaC 
of Ckaronea may be no longer regarded by 
the Atbeju^m as a mififbitune. It is at one 
time a clear demonftration tha^ diey had done 
their duty \ it gives occafipn for an illuftrjbus 
example J it is an oath artfiilly addrefs'd, a 
juft encomium, and a moving exhor^tion. 
And whereas thk objeiSion mig^t be thrown 
in his way, *' You fpeak of a defeat partly 
*^ occafion'd by your owq ill conduct, and 
*^ thee you fwear by thofe celebrated viftg- 

^ ries;" the orator took care to weigh all his 

words 

fenfible of the ridiculoufnels of ufing oaths, if they were not 
applied as happily as the orator has Af^lied them ; but .he has 
not at the fame time laid open the dofeAs^ which Ltmginut 



evi- 



fed. 17. on the SvuLiME. Sg 

words in the 'balances of art, and thereby 
brings them off with fecurity and honour. 
From which prpdent conduft we may infer, 
that fobriety and moderatbn muft be obferved, 
in the warmeft fits of fire and tranfport. In 
fpeaking of their anceAors he iays, ^* Thofe 
^' who fo bravely expofed themieiyes to dan^ 
^' ger in the plains of Marathon^ tho& who 
^' were in the naval ei^agements near Sala^ 
•* mis and Artemifium^ and thofe who fought 
'' at Plataa\' indoftrioufly fiipprefling the 
very mention of the events of thofe battles, 
becauie they wece fuccei6ful, and quite oppo* 
fite to that of C&^^/2^4^. Upon which ac* 
count he aBtkipates all <9bjeftions, by imme- 
diately fobjoimng, " all whom, MfchineSy the 
^^ city honoured with a public fonerd, not 
** becaufe they purchased victory with their 
^' lives, but becaufe they ioft thofe for their 
•^ coufitry.** 

SECTION XVII/ 

I muft flffixt m tthi^ fJace^ npty j&ioftdl^ m^ 
an obfervation ^ my own, wfcdoh I will 

men- 

evidentl^r <li(cavers, in a iwe eiraaunatiQa jqS thi^ xtaUi if\ 
Bupolis, Dacier. 

(i) Debo^ 



go LONGINUS $€&. I y. 

mention in the fhorteft mannei : Figures na- 
turally impart affiftance to, and on the other 
fide receive it again, in a wonderful manner, 
from fublime fentiments. And I'll now fhew 
♦ where, and by what means, this is done. 

A too frequent and elaborate application of 
Figures, carries with it a great fufpicion of ar- 
tifice, deceit, and fi*aud, efpecially when, in 
pleading, we fpeak before a judge, from whofe 
fcntence lies no appeal; and much more, if 
before a tyrant, a monarch, or any one in- 
vefted with arbitrary power or unbounded 
authority. For he grows immediately angry, 
if he thinks himfelf childifhly anjufed, and 
attacked by the quirks and ' fubtleties of a 
wily rhetorician. He regards the attempt as 
an infult and affront to his underflanding, 
and fometimes breaks out into bitter indig- 
nation ; and tho* perhaps he may fupprefs his 
wrath, and flifle his refentments for the 
prefent, yet he is averfe, nay even deaf, . to 
the mofl plaufible and perfuafive arguments 
that can be alledged. Wherefore a Figure is 
then mofl dextroufly applied, when it cannot 
be difcerned that it is a Figure. 

Now a due mixture of the Sublime and 

Pathetic very much increafes the force, and 

. removes the fufpicion, that commonly attends 

on 



8e(9:; 1 7. on the Sublime; g i 

on the ufe of figures. For veil'd, as it were, 
and wrapt up -in fuch beauty and grandeur, 
they feem to difappear, and fecurely defy dif- 
covery. I cannot produce a better example, 
to ftrengthen this aflertion, than the pre- 
ceding from Demojihenes : "I fwear by thofe 
*' noble fouls," &c. For in what has the 
orator here concealed the Figure ?. Plainly, in ^ 
its own luftre. For. as the ftars are quite 
dim'd and obfcur'd, when the fun breaks out 
in all his blazing rays, fo the artifices of 
rhetoric are entirely overfhadowed, by the 
fuperiof fplendor of fublime thoughts. A pa- 
rallel illuftration may be drawn from paint- 
ing: for when feveral colours of light and 
fhade are drawn upon the fame furface, thofe 
of light feem not only to rife out of the 
piece, but even to lie much nearer to the 
fight. So the Sublime and Pathetic either • 
by means of a great affinity they bear to the 
fprings and movements of our fouls, or by 
their own fuperlative luftre, always out/hine 
the adjacent Figures^ whofe art they fliadow, 
and whofe appearance they cover, in a veil of 
fuperior beauties. 



SEC- 



LONGINUS Scdik 1 8. 



SECTION XVIII. 

WHAT (hall I fay here of ^Jiion and 
Interrogation ? ( i ) Is not difcourfe enlivened, 
ilrengthened, and thrown more forcibly along 

by 

(i) DehraVs words in the perfon of Siferah mother, 
inftadted above on another occafic^, are alfo a noble ex* 
ample of the ufe of Inttrrogaiiws, Nor can I in this place 
pafs by a paiTage in the hiftorical part of Scripture ; I mean 
the words of Chrift, in this Figure of fclf-interrogation and 
atifwer. " What went ye Out into the wildernefi to fee ? 
«< a reed (haken with the wind ? But what went ye out 
«' for to fee ? a man clothed in foft raiment ? behold, the/ 
«< that wear foft clothing, are in kings houfes. But what 
«< went ye out for to fccf a prophet } yea, I lay unto you, 
<< and mort than a prophet. Matt. xi. 7-9. Or. Pioru. 

That the fenfe receives fttength, as well as beauty, from 
this Figure J h no where lb vifiMe> as in the poetical and pro- 
pfaedcal parts of Scripture. Numberless inftances might beeafil/ 
produced, and we are puzzled bow to pitch on any in par« 
ticular, amidft lb fine variety, left the choice might gire 
room to call our judgment in queftion, for taking no notice 
of others^ that perhaps are more remarkable. 

Any reader will obferve, tkat there is a poetical air in the 
pftdiAiont of Balaam in the xxiiid chapter of Numbers^ and 
that there is particularly an uncommon XSfsndeur in ver. tg. 

<< God is not a man, that he (hould lye, neither the fon 
<< of man, that he ihould repent. Hath he faid, and (hall 
<^ he not do it ? or, hath he fpoken, and Khali be not make 
« it good?" 

What 



StSt. i9. on de Sublimit. g^ 

by this fort of Figure ? " Would you, fays 
•* Demojihenes *, go about the city, and de- 
'* inand what neWs i What greater news can 
^* there be, thart that a MscedoniizH enflaves 
** the Athenians^ and lords it over Greece? 
•' Is PhiHp dead ? No : but he is very fick. 

" And 

Wbtt is the caufe of this Grandeur will ifntfiiediately be 
]Esen, if the fenfe be preferved, and the words thrown out of 
interro^tion : 

<< God is not a man, that he (hould he, neither the fon 
^< of man, that he ihould repent. What he has faid, he 
<< will do; and what hie has fpoke, be Will make good.*' 

The difieitnee is (b vifible^ that it is hetdlefs to enlarge 
upon it. 

How artfully does St. Paul in ASis xxvi. transfer his dif- 
OMirfe froto Fiftus to Agrippa. In vei*. 26. he fpeaks of 
him in Ihe third perfon. « The King (fays he) knoweth 
•« <tf thefe thmgs, before whom I alfo fpeak freely — ^** 
then in the following he turns Ihort upon him ; " King 
*• Agnppa, teelicveft thoii the prophets ? " and immediately 
atfWers his oWh qudHon, «' I know that thoii belifeveft.**^ 
The fmootheft eloquence, the moft infimmcing com^^ifance, 
could never have made fuch impreffion on Agrippe, as this 
ikiiexpefi^d and pathetic addrefs. 

To thfcfe inflances may be added the whole xxxviiith 

chapter of Job j where we behold the Almighty Creator 

cxpoftulating with his creature, in terms, which exprefs at 

once, the majcfty and perfefiioh of the one, the mcannefi 

and frailty of the other. There we fee, how vaftly ufefiil 

the figure of Interrogation is, in giving us a lofty idea of 

the Deity, whilft every ^eJHon awes us into filcnce, and 

infpires a fenfe of our own infufficioncy. 

* Demofib. Philip, ima. 

(2) Hcfc 



94- L o N G I N u s Se&. 1 8. 

** And what advantage would accrue to you 
*' from his death, when as foon as his head 
** is laid, you yourfelves will raife up another 
" Philip?'' And again f, "Let us fet fail 
" for Macedonia. But where fhall we land ? 
*' (2) The very war will difcover to us the 
" rotten and unguarded fides of Philip.'' Had 
this been uttered fimply and without Inter^ 
rogation^ it would have fallen vaftly ftiort of 
the majefty requifitc to the fubjedl in debate. 
But as it is, the enei^ and rapidity that ap- 
pears in every queftion and anfwer, and die 
quick replies to his own demands, as if they 
were the objedtions of another perfon, not 
only renders his oration more fublime and 
lofty, but more plaufible and probable. For 
the Pathetic then works the moft furprifing 
efFeds upon us, when it feems not fitted to 
the fubjedl by the skill of the fpeakcr, but 
to flow opportunely from it. And this me- 
thod of quejiioning and anfwering to ones felf, 
imitates the quick emotions of a paflion in 
its birth. For in common converfation, when 
people are queftion'd, they are warm'd at 

once, and anfwer the demands put to them, 

with 

(2) Here are two words in the originaU which are omitted 
in the tranflation ; npfro t/?> fome body may demand 'y but 
they manifeftly debafc the beauty of the figure. Dr« Piorce 

has 



Sed. ig, on the ^xi^'LiU'E. 95 

with earneftnefs and truth. And thus this 
Figure of Queftion and Anfwer is of won- 
derful efficacy in prevailing upon the hearer, 
and impofing on him a belief, that thofc 
things, which Tare ftudied and laboured, are 
uttered without premeditation, in the heat and 

fluency of difcourfe. * \What follows here^ 

is the beginning of a fentence now mainCd 
and imperfeBy but *tis evident from the few 
words yet remaining^ that the author was going 
to add another injiance of the ufe of this Figure 
from Herodotus.] * * * * * * * 

***** ******* 

SECTION XIX. 

******* ^The beginning of 
this feSlion is hji^ but the fenfe is eafily fupplied 
from what immediately follows^ Another great 
help in attaining Grandeur, is baniftiing the 
Copulatives at a proper feafon. For fentences, 
artfully divefted of ConjunSiionSj drop fmoothly 
down, and the periods are poured along in 
fuch a manner, that they feem to outftrip 

the 

has an ingenious conjefture, that having been fometime fet as 
marginal explanations, they crept infenfibly into the text, 
t Demofth. Philip, ima. 

K (i) « The 



g6 LoNGiNOS Scd. ig. 

the very thought of the fpeaker. ( i ) " Then, 
" fays Xenophon *, doling their ftiields to- 
" gether, they were pufh'd, they fought, 
" they flew, they >Yere ilain/' So Eurylocbus 
in Homer \ : ' ' 

We went, Ulyjfes! (fuch was thy command) 
Thro' the lone thicket, and the defart land ; 
A palace in a woody vale we found. 
Brown with dark forefts, and with ihades around. 

Mr, Pope. 
For 

(i) <* The want of a fcrupulous connexion draws things 
<^ into a le&r compafs, and adds the greater fpirit and emo- 

cc tion. For the more rays are coUeSed in a point, the 

«' more vigorous is the flame. Hence there is yet greater 
<' emphaftsy when the rout of an army is (hewn in the fame 
<« con trailed manner, as in the 24th of the Odyjfey^ /. 6io. 
<^ which has fbme refemUanqe to Saltujfs defcription of the 
(' fame thing, agreeable to his ufual concifenefs^ in thefe four 
« words only, [eqm^fugerey occidi, capi.*' 

Effay w the Otfyjfey^ p. 2d, 113. 

Voltaire has endeavoured to ihew the hurry 'and confufion 
of a battle, in the (ame manner, in the Henriade. Cbanu 6. 

Francois, Anglois, Lorrains, que la fureur ailemble, 
Avanfoient, combattoient, frappoient, mouroient enfemble. 

The hurry and diftraaion of Dido's fpirits, at JEneas*^ 
departure, is vifible from the abrupt and precipitate manner, 
in which ihe commands her fervants to endeavour to flop 
him: 

Ite, 

Ferte citi flammas, date vela» impellitc remoi* Mntid. ii. 

Haflc, 



5ed. 20. ^» /i5^ Sublime. 07 

For words of this fort difTevered from one 
another, and yet uttered at the fame time with 
precipitation, carry with them the energy and 
marks of a confternation, which at once re- 
ftrains and accelerates the words. So fkilfuUy 
has Homer rejected the Conjunctions. 

SECTION XX. 

BUT nothing fo efFedlually moves, as a 
beap of Figures combined together. For ( i ) 

when 

Hafle, haul my gallles out ; purfue the foe ; 

Bring flaming brands, fet fail, and quickly row, Dryden. 

* Rerum Gr»c. p. 219. ed. Oxoo* ii in orat. de Agefil. 
f OdyfT. X. ver. 251. ^ 

(i) Amongft the various and beautiful inftances of an 
ajfemblage of Figures, which 4tiay be produced, and which 
fo frequently occur in the beft writings, one, I believe, has 
hitherto not been taken notice rf| I mean the four laft 
verfes of the xxivth Pfalm. 

'• Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, yc 
<< everlafttng doors, and the King of glory fliall come in. 
•« Who is the King of glory ? The Lord ftrong and mighty^ 
<' the Lord mighty in battles. Lift up your heads, O y9 
<' gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlafting doors, and the 
*' King of glory fliall come in. Who is the King of glory? 
«• The Lord of hofts : he is the King of glory .^' 

There are innumerable inftances of this kind in the poeti- 
cal parts of Scripture, particularly, in the Song of Deborah 
{Judges chap, v.) and the Lamentation of DavU pver Saul 

K a and 



98 Lo N G I N u 8 Scd:. 20. 

when two or three are linked together in firm 
confederacy, they communicate ftrength, effi- 
cacy, and beauty to one another. So in £)^- 
mo/lhenes' oration * againft Midias^ the Afyn^ 
deigns q,re blended and mix'd together with 
the Repetitions and lively Defcription. " TherQ 
*' are feveral turns in the gefture, in the look, 
'' in the voice of the man, who does violence 
*' to another, which it is impoffible for the 
*' party that fuffers fuch violence, to exprefs/* 
And that the courfe of his oration might not 
languirti or grow dull by a further progrefs in 
the fame track (for calmnefs and fedatenefs 
attend always upon order, but the Pathetic al- 
ways rejefts order, becaufe it throws the foul 
into tranfport Mid emotion) he paffes imme- 
diately to new Afyndetons and frefh Repetitions 

; » " in the gefture, in the look, in the 

^' voice — when like a ruffian, when like an 
** enemy, when with his fift, when on the 
*' face."—— The efFeft of thefe words upon 
his judges, is that of the blows of him wha 
made the aflault ; the ftrokes fall thick upon 
one another, and their very fouls are fub- 
dued by fo violent an attack. Afterwards, he. 

charges 

and Jonathan (2 Samuel chap, i.) There is fcarcc one thought 
iti them, whieh is not figured ; nor one Figure, which is 
Aot beiutiful. 

(I) No 






Se(5t. 21* on the Sv B LI ii E. 99 

charges again with all the force and impetuolity 
of hurricanes : ' ' When with his fift, when on 
'' the face"—. " Thefe things affea:, thefe 
things exalperate men unufed to fuch out- 
rages. No body in giving a recital of thefe 
things can exprefs the heinoufnefs of ' 
*' them." By frequent variation, he every 
where preferves the natural force of his Re^ 
petitions and AfyndetonSy fo that with him 
order feems always difordered, and diforder 
carries with it a furprifing regularity. 

SECTION XXL 

TO illuftrate the foregoing obfervation, let 
us imitate the ftile of Ifocrates^ and infert 
the Copulatives in this paflage, wherever they 
may feem requifite. ^' Nor indeed is one ob- 
" fervation to be omitted, that he. who com- 
" mits violence on another, may do many 

*.^ things, ^c. fir ft in his gellure, then in 

" his countenance, and thirdly in his voice, 

• '' which, Gfr. And if you proceed to infert 

the ConjunSiionSy (i) you will find, that by 

fmoothing the roughnefs, and filling up the 

breaks 

* Pag. 337. ed Par. 
( I ) No writer ever made a lefs ufe of Copulatives^ than 
St. PauL His thoughts poured in fo faft upon him, that he 

K 3 had 



roo L o N G 1 N u s Sc£t. 2 1 . 

breaks by fuqh additions, what was before 
forcibly, furprifingly, irrefiftibly patheticaly will 
lofe all its energy and fpirit, will have all its 
fire immediately extinguiflied. To bind the 
limbs of racers, is to deprive them of aftivc 
motion and the power of ftretching. In like 
manner the Pathetic, when embaraffed and 
entangled in the bonds of Copulatives, cannot 
fubfift without difficulty. It is quite deprived 
of liberty in its race, and divefted of that 
impetuofity, by which it ftrikes the very in- 
ftant it is difcharged. 

S EC- 
had no leifure to knit them together, by the help of particles, 
but has by that means given them weight, fpirit, energy, 
jind ftrong fignificance. An inftance of it may be feen in 
a Corinth, chap. vi. From ver. 4, to 10, is but one fcn- 
tence, of pear thirty different members, which are all de- 
tached from one another ; and if the Copulatives be inferted 
after the IJocratean manner, the flrength will be quite im- 
paired, and the fedate grandeur of the whole grow flat and 
heavy, 

(1) Virgil is very happy in his application of this Figure ^ 
•— — Moriamur, & in media arma ruamus. 

JEneid. L ii. ver. 348. 
And again, 

Mc, me, adfum qui feci, in me convertite ferrum. 

Id, lib. ix. ver. 427. 

/ III both thcfe inftances, the wordc arc removed, out of 

their right order, into an irregular difpofition, which is 9 
natural confcqucncc of dlforder in the mind. Dr. Pearce. 

There 






Scd. 22. on the Sublime. ioi 

SECTION XXII. 

HTPERBAtONS alfo arc to be rank'd 
among the ferviceable Figures. An Hyperba- 
ton [i) is a tranfpofing of words or thoughts 
out of their natural and grammatical' order, 
and it is a Figure ftampcd as it were with the 
trueft image of a moll forcible pafEon. (2) 
When men are actuated either by wrath, or 
fear, or indignation, or jealoufy, or any of 
thofe numberlefs paflions incident to the 

mind. 

There is a fine Hyperbaton in the vth hook of Paradife 
Loft: 

Sweet is the breath of morn, her rifing fweet. 

With charm of earlieft birds : pleafant the fun. 

When firft on this delightful land he fpreads 

His orient beams> on herb, tree, fruit, and flow'r, 

.Glift'ring with dew : fragrant the fertile earth 

After foft (how'rs: and fweet the coming on 

Of grateful evening mild : then filent night. 

With this her folemn bird, and this fair moon. 

And thefe the gems of hcaw'n, her ftarry train. 

But neither breath of morn, when (he afcends. 

With charm of earlieft birds : nor hcrb^ fruit, flowV, 

Glift'ring with disw: nor frs^ance after fliow'rs: 

Nor grateful evening mild: nor filent night. 

With this her folemn bird : nor walk by noon. 

Or glittering ftar-light^ without thee is fweet. 

(2) Longinus here, in explaining the nature of the Hyper- 
batoriy and agsiin in the clofe of the fe£tion, has made ufe 

K 4 of 



LONGINUS Sed. 2 2. 

mind, which cannot be reckoned up, they 
fluctuate here, and there, and every where ; 
are ftill upon forming new refolutions, and 
breaking thro' meafures before concerted, with- 
out any apparent reafon : ftill unfixed and 
undetermined, their thoughts are in perpetual 
hurry ; till, toffed as it were by feme unfta- 
ble blaft, they fometimes return to their firft 
refolution : fo that, by this flux and reflux of 
paflion, they alter their thoughts, their lan- 
guage, and their manner of expreflion a thou- 
fand times. Hence it comes to pafs, that (3) 

an 

6f an Hyperbaton^ or (to fpeak more truly) of a certain con- 
fufed and more extenfive compafs of a fentence. Whether 
he did this by accident, or defign, I cannot determine ; tho' 
Le Fevre thinks it a piece of art in the author, in order to 
adapt the diftion to the fubjedl. Dr. Pearce. 

(3) This fine remark may be iUuftrated by a celebrated 
paflage in Shakefpear^s Hamlet^ where the poet's art has hit 
off the ftrongeft and moft exaft refemblance of nature. The 
behaviour of his mother makes fuch impreffion on the young 
pfince, that his mind is big with abhorrence of it, but ex- 
prefTions fail him. He begins abruptly; but as reflexions 
croud thick upon his mind, he runs off into commendations 
of his father. Some time after, his thoughts turn again on 
that aftion of his mother, which had raifed his refentments, 
but he only touches it, and flies off agaia In Ihort, he 
takes up eighteen lines in telling us, that his mother married 
again, in lefs than two months after her husband's death. 

But two months dead ! nay, not fo much, not two 

So excellent a king, that was to this 

Hyperion 



Bed:, 22. OH tie S 13 3 LI ME. 103 

an imitation of thefc I'ranfpojitions gives the 
raoft celebrated writers the greateft refem- 
blance of the inward workings of nature. 
For art may then be termed perfedl and con- 
fummate, when it feems to be nature ; and 
nature then fuccecds beft, when fhe conceak 
what affiftance fhe receives from art. 

In HerodotiiSy * Dionyjjus the Fhocean fpeaks 
thus in a Tranfpojition : " For our affairs are 
*^ come to their crifis ; now is the important 
*^ moment, loniansy to fecure your Hberty, 
^' or to undergo that cruelty and oppreflion, 

" which 

Hyperion to a Satyr : fo loving to my mother. 

That he permitted not the winds of heav'n 

Vifit her face too roughly. Heav'n and earth ! 

Mufl I remember? — why, fhe would hang on him, ^ 

As if increafe of appetite had grown 

By what it fed on ; yet within a month .> 

Let me not think Frailty, thy name is woman ! 

A little month ! or ere thofe flioes were old. 

With which fhe foUow'd my poor father's body. 
Like Niobe all tears ■ why fhe, ev'n fhe 

Oh heav'n ! a beafl: that wants difcourfe of reafon. 
Would have mourn'd longer — married with mine uncle. 
My father's brother, no more like my father. 
Than I to Hercules. Within a month ! — — 
Ere yet the fait of moft unrighteous tears 
Had left the flufhing of her galled eyes. 
She married. Oh mofl wicked fpeed ! 

* Herod. 1. 6. c. n. 

(4) The 



cc 
<c 

cc 



CC 



104 LoNGiNus Sea. 2a* 

which is the portion of flaws, nay fugi- 
tive flavcs. Submit yourfclvcs then to toU 
and labour for the prefent. This toil and 
labour will be of no long continuance ; it 
•* will defeat your enemies^ and guard ywMr 
^* freedom," The natural wder was this: 
O loniansj now is the time to fubmit 
to toil and labour, for your affairs arc 
come to their crifis,'* &c. But as he 
tranfpofeit the falutation, lonians, and after 
having thrown them into conflernation, fub- 
joins it; it fecms, as if fright had hindered 
him, at fetting out, from paying due civility to 
his audience. In the next place, he inverts 
the order of the thoughts* Befcwre he exhorts 
them to " fubmit to toil and labour'* (for 
that is the end of his exhortation) he men- 
tions 

(4) The clcxjucnce of St. Paul, in moft of his fpeeches 
and argumentations, bears a very great refemblance to that 
of Demojthenesy as defcribcd in thk feflion by Longinus^ 
Some important point being always uppermoft in his view, 
he often leaves his fubjed, and flies from it with brave irre- 
gularity, and as unexpeftedly j^in returns to his fubjefi, 
when one would ims^ine that he had entirely loft fight of 
it. For inftance, in his defence before king Agrippa^ Aiis 
chap. xxvi. when, in order to wipe off the afperfions thrown 
upon him by the fevos^ that he was a turbulent arid feditimis 
per/on, he fets out with clearing his charafter, proving the 
integrity of his morals, and his inofienfive unblameable be- 
haviour, as one, who hoped, by thofe means, to attain that 

happi- 



Scd. 22. on the Sublime. 105 

tictos the reafon why labour and toil muft be 
undergone, *^ Your aflEtirs (fays he) are come 
'^ to their crifis,'*—— fo that his words fecm 
not premeditated, but to be forced unavoidably 
from him. 

But I'bucydides is ftill more of a perfeft 
mailer in that furprifing dexterity of tranfpof- 
ing and inverting the Order of thofe things,, 
which feem naturally united and infeparable. 
Demojihenes indeed attempts not this fo often 
as T'kicydideSy yet he is more difcrcetly liberal 
of this kind of Figure than any other writer. 
(4) He feems to invert the very order of his 

difcourfe, and what is more, to utter every 
thing extempore ; fo that by means of his long 
^ran/pofitions he drags his readers along, and 
condufts them thrt? all the intricate mazes of 

his 

happinefs of another life, for which the twelve tribes ferved 
God continually in the temple % on a fudden he drops the con- 
tinuation of his defence, and cries out '' Why fhould it be 
«< thought a thing incredible with you, that God fhould 
(« raife the dead?'' It might be reafonably expeded, that 
this would be the end of hk argument ; but by flying to it, 
in fo quick and unexpeded a tranfition^ he catches his au- 
dience before they are aware, and flrikes dumb his enemies, 
tho' they wiU not be convinced. And this point being once 
carried, he comes about again as unexpededly, by, I. verily 
tbcHgbt^ &c. and goes on with his defence, till it brings him 
again to the (ame Point, of the Refurredion, in vcr. 33. 

(i) Polyf^ 



io6 , L o N G I N u s Sed:. 22. 

his difcourfe : frequently arrefting his thoughts 
in the midft of their career, he makes excur- 
fions into different fubjedls, and intermingles 
feveral feemingly unneceffary incidents : By 
this means he gives his audience a kind of 
anxiety, as if he had loft his fubjed, and for- 
got what he was about; and fo ftrongly en- 
gages their concern, that they tremble for and 
bear their (hare in the dangers of the fpeaker : 
At length after a long ramble, he very perti- 
nently, but unexpectedly, returns to his fub- 
je<ft, and raifes the furprife and admiration of 

all, 

(i) Pofyptotes] Longinus gives no inflance of this Figure: 
but one may be produced from Cicero's oration for C^UuSy 
where he fays: *' We will contend with arguments, we 
«« will refute accufations by evidences brighter than light it- 
«' felf : faft (hall engage with feft, caufe with caufe, reafon 
«' with reafon.'* To which may be added that of Virgil^ 
Mn. lib, X. ver. 361. 

— - Haeret pede pes, denfufque viro vir. Dr. Pearce^ 

(2) ColleSfions.'] The orator makes ufe of this Figure, 
when inftcad of the Whole of a thing, he numbers up all 
its Particulars: of which we have an inflance in Cicero*^ 
oration for Marcellus : " The centurion has no fhare in 
<' this honour, the lieutenant none, the cohort none, the 
'^ troop none.** If Cicero had faid, " The foldiers have no 
'* fhare in this honour,** this would have declared his mean- 
ing, but not the force of the fpeaker. See alfo ^inSiilian^ 
Injiit, orat, /. viii. c. z. de congerie verborum ac fententia- 
rum idem fignificantium. Dr. Pearce. 

(3) Changes. 



Sed. 23. on the Sub l i m e. 107 

all, by thefe daring, but \i2ii^^y Tranfpofttions. 
The plenty of examples, which every where 
occur in his orations, .will be my excufe for 
giving no particular inftance, 

SECTION XXIII. 

THOSE Figures, which are called ( i ) 
Polyptotes^ as alfo (2) ColleSiions^ (3) Changes y 
and (4) Gradations^ are (as you know, my 
friend) well adapted to emotion, and fervicea- 
ble in adorning, and rendering what we fay, in 

all 

(3) Changes.] ^inSlilian gives an inftance of this Figure, 
Inj^it. orat, I, ix, c, 3, from Cicero's oration for Sex, Rofcius: 
«< For tho' be is mailer of fo much art, as to feem the only 
<« perfon alive, wrho is fit to appear upon the ftage j yet he 
<« is poiTefTed of-fuch noble qualities^ that he feems to be 
*' the only man alive, who may fccm worthy never to ^p- 
«• pear there/* Dt.Pearce. 

(4) Gradathns,'} There is an inftance of this figure in 
Rom> V, It is continued throughout the chapter, but .the 
branches of the latter part appear not plainly, becaufe of the 
Tranfpofttions. It begins vcr. i. « Therefore being juftified 
<« by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord 
<« Jefus Chrift. By whom alfo we have accefs by faith 
«' into this grace, wherein we ftand, and rqoice in hope of 
«* the glory of God. And not only fo, but we glory in 
«« tribulations alfo, knowing that tribulation worketh pa- 
*« tience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope ; 

*« and hope makcth not afliamed, becaufe, &c. &c. 

■ - . , . *, ... 

(5) Changes 



io8 LoNGiNus Se<a. 23. 

all refpedls, more grand and afFedUng. And 
to what an amazing degree do (5) Changes 
either of Time, Cafe, Perfon, Number, Gen- 
der, diverfify and enliven the ftile \ 

As to Change of Numbers, I affert, that in 
words Jmgular in form may be difccrned all 
the vigour and efficacy of plurals^ and that 
(nchjingulars are highly ornamental. 

(6) Along the fhorcs an endlefs crowd appear, 
Whofe noife and din and fhouts confound the car. 

But plurals anc moft worthy of remark, be- 
caufe they impart a greater magnificence to the 
ftile, and by the copioufnels of number give it 
more emphafis and grace. So the words d 
Oedifus in Svpbocks * : 



•Mih 



Ohi nuptials, nuptials! 



You firil produced, and iince our fatal birth 
Have mix'd our blood, and all our race con- 
founded^ 
Blended in horrid and inceftuous bonds ! 
See ! fathers, brothers, ions, a dire alliance ! 

See! 

(5) Changes of Cafe and Gendtr fall not under the diflriA 
of the Bngiyh tongue. On thofe of Time^ Ptrfin^ and Num' 
ber, Longinus enlarges in the fequel. 

(6) The beauty of this Figure will, I fear, be lofi in the 
tranflation. But it muft be obferved, that the word crowds 
is of the Angular, and oppi(fr$ of the plural number. Al- 
lowance 



Sed:. 23. on tig Sv BLiUE. 109 

See ! filbers, wives and mothers ! all the names 
That e'er from lutt or inceft cou'd arife. 

All thefc terms denote on the one fide (kJi-- 
pus only, and on the other Jocafta. But the 
number thrown into the plural^ feems to mul- 
tiply the misfortunes of that unfortunate pair. 
So another poet has made life of the fame me- 
thod of increafe. 

Then HeSiors and Sarpedons ifEaed forth. 

Of this Figure is that expreflion of Plato 
concerning the Atheniuni^ quoted by me in 

my other writings. " For neither' do the 
Pelops^Sy nor the Cadmus' s^ nor the Mgyp^ 
tuSSy nor the Danaus's dwell here with us, 
nor indeed any others of barbarous defcent, 
but we ourfelves, Grecians entirely, not 
having our blood debafed by barbarian mix- 
tures, dwell here alone,*' &c. ^ When the 
words are thus confufedly thrown into multi- 
tudes, one upon another, they excite in us 
greater and more elevated ideas of things. Yet 

recourfe 

iowance muft be made in Cich cafes, for wh«i the genius of 
another language will not retain it, the original beauty muft 
unavoidably fly ofF. 

* Oedip. Tyran. ver. 1417. « 

f Plato in Mencfccno, p. 245. cd. Par. 

(7) F^r 



cc 
cc 

<€ 

ic 



no LoNGINUS Sc(9:, i24. 

recourfe is not to be had to this Figure on 
all occafions, but then only, when the fubjecft 
will admit of an Amplification, an Enlarge-, 
ment. Hyperbole, or Paflion, either one or 
more. (7) For to hang fuch trappings to every 
paflage is highly pedantic. 

SECTION XXIV. 

O N the contrary alfo, plurals reduced and 
contracted inio Jingulars have fometimes much 

grandeur 

(7) For to hang fuch trappings ^ &c. — ] I have given this 
paflage fuch a turn, as, I hope, will clear the meaning to an 
Englijh reader. The literal tranflation is, *« For hanging 
** the bells every where favours too much of the fophift 
*' or pedant." The metaphor is borrowed from a cuftom 
among the ancients ; who, at public games and concourfes, 
were ufed to hang little hdh (itaJ^wPct^) on the bridles and 
trapping of their horfes, that their continual chiming might 
add pomp to the folemnity. 

The robe or ephod of the high-prieft, in the Mofalc dif- 
penfation, had this ornament of heUsy tho' another reafbn, 
befides the pomp and dignity of the found, is alledged for it 
in Exodus xxviii. 33. 

(i) Befides all Peloponnefus.] Inftcad of, «' all the inba- 
«« blunts of Peloponnefusy were at that time rent into fac- 
*« tions." 

St, Paul makes ufe of this Figure, jointly with a change 
of Perfon, on feveral occafions, and with different views. 
In Rom. vii, to avoid the direft charge of difobedience on 
the whole body of the Jewsy he transfers the difcourfe into 
the firji perfon, and fo charges the infufficiency and frailty 
of all his countrymen on him/el/^ to guard againft the in* 

vidioufnefs. 



<c 



ic 



cc 



Sed. 24. on the S u b l 1 m b. 

grandeur and magnificence, (i) " Befides all 
" Peloponnefus was at that time rent into fac- 
" tions */' And, " At the reprefcntation of 
Phrynichus' tragedy, called. The Jiege of 
Miletus^ (2) the whole theatre was melted 
into tears -j-/' For uniting thus one com- 
plete Number out of feveral diftind:, renders 
a difcourfe more nervous and folid. But the 
beauty, in each of thefe Figures, arifes from 
the fame caufe, which is, the unexpcfted 

change 

vidioufnefs, which an open accufation might have drawn 
upon him. See ver. 9-25. 

(2) The wheU theatre. "] Inftead of, *^ all the people in 
*' the theatre.'* Miletus was a city of loniaj which the 
Perftans befieged and took. Phrynichus, a tragic poet, 
brought a play on the ftage, about the demolition of this 
city. But the Athenians (as Herodotus informs us) fined him 
a thoufand drachma^ for ripping open afrefli their domeftic 
fores; and publilhed an edidl, that no one fhould ever after 
write on that fubjedl. Dr. Pearce. 

Shake/pear makes a noble ufe of this Figure, in the fol- 
lowing lines from his Antony and CleopatrOy tho' in the clofc, 
there is a very ftrong dafli of the Hyptrbole: 

■ The city caft 

Her people out upon her, and Antony 
Enthron'd i' th' market-place, did fit alone 
Whiftling to th' air j which but for vacancy. 
Had gone to gaze on Cleopatra too. 
And made a gap in nature. ■ 

* Demofth. orat. de corona, p. 17. cd. Oxon. 
+ Herod. 1.6. c. 21, 

L So 



III 



It^ LotiGiNUS Sefi:. 25. 

change of a Word into its oppofitc Number. 
For wlien Singulars occur, unexpeftedly to 
multiply them into Plurals, and by a fiidden 
arid unforefcen change, to contradl Plurdls in 
one Singular founding and ertiphatical, is the 
tnark of a pathetic fpe^ket. 

SECTION XXV. 

WHEN you introduce things paji as ac- 
tually prefent^ and in the moment of aftion, 
you no longer relate, but difplay, the very Ac- 
tion before the eyes of your readers, (i) *^ A 
ioXdX^r, i'diy^ Xenophon^, falls down under 
Cyrus* horfe, and being trampled under foot, 
•* wounds him in the belly with his fword. 
" The horfe, impatient of the wound, flings 

•^ about 

'"':-% X Xenophon de Cyri inftitut. 1. 7. 

■V (0 So Virgil lEn. /. xi. ver. 6^y. 

Orfilochus Romuli, quando ipfum horrebat adire, 
Haftam intorfit equo, ferrumque fub aure reliquit. 
Quo fonipes iSu furit arduus, altaque ja£bt 
Vulneris impatiens adre£to pcftore crura. 
Volvitur ille exculTus humi. • 

By making ufe of the prefent tcnfe, Firgil makes the 
reader fee almoft with his eyes, the wound of the horfe, and 
the fall of the warrior. Dr. Pearce. 

( I .) Virgil fupplies another inftance of th« efficacy of thii 
Figure, in the ^n. /,viii. ver, 6S9. 

• Uni 



cc 



Sed. 26. on tie 8v BLijiE^ 

" about and throws off Cyrus. He falls to the 
'^ ground." "Tbucydides very frequently makes 
ufc of this Figure. 



"3 



'■ ■^»*'> ^.- V, 



SECTION XXVt 

CHANGE of Perfons has alfo a won* 
derfiil eflfedt, in fetting the very things before 
our eyes, and making the hearer think him- 
felf actually prefent and concerned in dangers, 
when he is only attentive to a recital of 
them. 

No force could vanquilh them, thou would*ft 

have thought. 
No toil fatigue, fo furioufly they fought * 

And fo Aratus -f-, 

O put not thou to fea in that fad month ! (i.) 

And 

•^ v' 

Una omnes ruere, ac totum fpumare reduSis , 7f: 

Convolfum remis roftrlfque tridentibus squor. '"-^ 

Altapetunt: pelago crcdas innare revolfas ^ ^ ^^^ 

Cycladas, airt montes concurrere montibus altos. 
The allufions in the laft two lines prodigioufly hei0^tcn 
aiid exalt the fubjcd. So Tajfo defcribes the horror 6f a 
battle very pompoufly, in his Gierufalemme Uberata^ 
Canto 9no. 
L'horror, la crudelti, la tema, il lutto 

Van^'intornofcorrendo: et in varia imago 
Vincitrice la mortc errar per tutto 

Vedrefti, et ande^iar di fangue un lago* 

• Iliad. 0. vcr. 698. + Arati PhaBnom* v. 287. 






114 LoNGiNus Se<a* 26. 

And this paflage of Herodotus || : " You 
*' fliall fail upwards from the city Ekphanti-- 
" na, and at length you will arrive upon a le- 

" vcl coaft. After you have travelled over 

" this traft of land, you fhall go on board 
*' another fliip, and fail two days, and then 
** you will arrive at a great city, call'd Meroe^ 
You fee, my friend, how he carries your 
imagination along with him in this excurfion ! 
how he conducts it thro* the different fcenes, 
making even hearing fight ! And all fuch paf- 
fages, diredlly addreffed to the hearers, make 
them fancy themfelves adtually prefent in every 
occurrence. But when you addrefs your dif- 
courfe, not in general to all, but to one in par- 
ticular, as here *, 

You 

II Herod. L 2. c. 29. * Iliad, g. ver. 85. 
(2) Solomonh words, in Prov, viii. 34. bear fome refcm- 
blance, in the Tranfttion, to this inftance from Homtr: 
*• She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the pity, at tb« 
«' coming in of the doors — Unto you, O men, I call, and 
•^ my voice is to the fons of men. Dr. Pearce. 

There is alfo an example of it, in St. Luke v. 14. «« And 

<« he commanded him to tell no man, but Go, (hew 

<' thyfelf to the prieft." 

And another more remarkable, in Pfalm cxxviii. 2. 
** Ble/Ied are all they that fek? the Lord, and walk in his 

i« way For thou (halt eat the labours of thy hand. 

*• Oh! well it thee, and happy {halt thou be." 

It 



I 

Sc(fl:. 27. on the Sublime. i i ^ 

(2) You could not fee, fo fierce Tydides rag^. 

Whether for Greece or Bion he engag'd 

Mr, Pope. 

By this addrefs, you not only ftrike more 
upon his paffions, but fill him with a more 
earneft attention, and a more anxious impa- 
tience for the event, 

SECTION XXVII. 

SOMETIMES when a writer is faying 
any thing of a perfon, he brings him in^ by a 
fudden Tranjition^ to fpeak for himfelf. This 
Figure produces a vehement and lively Pathetic. 

( I ) Now HeSior^ with loud voice, renewed their toils. 
Bad them affault the Ihips and leave the fpoils ; 

But 

It is obfervable, that the latter part of this verfe tranfgrefles 
againft the rules of grammar ; but I think the fpirit would have 
been much impaired, had it been. Oh! well art thou, inftead 
of. Oh f well is thee. It is a beautiful diforder, and docs .;- 
honour to the tranflators. 

(i) There is a celebrated and mafterly tranfition of this 
kind, in the 4th book of MiltorCs Paradije Loft. 

Thus at their fhady lodge arriv'd, both flood. 
Both turn'd, and under open sky ador'd 
The God that made both sky, air, earth, and heav-n. 
Which they beheld, the moon's refplendent globe 

And ftarry pole Thou alfo mad'ft the night. 

Maker omnipotent, and thou th« day. 

L 3 Mr. 



.■■•»• 



n6 LoNGiNUs Scft. 27^ 

But whom I find at diftancc from the fleet. 

He from this vengeful arm his death Ihall nicet. i* 

That part of the narration, which he could 
go through with decently, the poet here af- 
fUmes to himfelf, but, without any previous 
notice, claps this abrupt menace into the mouth 
of his angry hero. How flat muft it have 
founded, had he flop*d to put in, Hedtor /poke 
fhusy or thus ? But now the quicknefs of the 
Tran/ition outflrips the very thought of the 

poet. 

Upon which account this Figure is theii 
mofl: feafonably applied, when the prefling 
exigency of time will not admit of any flop 
or delay, but even inforces a Tranfition from 
pcrfons to perfons, as in this paflfage of (2) He- 
cataus : " Ceyx very much troubled at thefe 
*' proceedings, immediately commanded all 
** the defcendents of the Heraclidce to depart 

"his 

Mr. Addtfon obferves, <« That moft of the modern herdc 
<« poets have imitated the ancients, in beginning a fpecch, 
<« without premifing that the perfon faid thus, or thus; but 
<* as it is eafy to imitate the ancients in the omiffion of two 
*« or three words, it requires judgment to do it in fuch a 
** manner, as they Ihall not be miffed, and that the fpeech 
' *« may begin naturally without them. SpiStatoVy N^ 321. 

(2) Hecataus.'] He means Hecataus the Milefian^ the 
firft of the hiftorjans, according to Suidas, who wrote in 
profe. Langbaine. 

(3) De- 



<< 
cc 



9 

Sei9:. fj. on the S u b l i M:E. i i 

his territories,— For I am unable to affift 
you. To prevent therefore your own de- 
" ftrufftion, ancj not to involve me in your 
'* ruin, go feek a retreat amongft another 
« people." 

(3) Demojihenes h^s made ufe of this Figure 
in & different manner, and. with much more 
paffion and volubility, in his oration againft 
Arijiogiton * : " And fhall not one among you 
*' boil with wrath, when thje iniquity of this 
** infolent and profligate wretch is laid before 
** your eyes ? This infolent wretch, I fay, 
*' who — — Thou moft abandoned creature ! 
when excluded the liberty of fpeaking, not 
by bars or gates, for thefe indeed fome 
other might have bur ft." — The thought is 
here left imperfed: and unfiniflied, and he al- 
moft tears his words afunder to addrefs them 
at once to different perfons : " Who — Thou 

" moft 

(3) Demofthenes has made ufe^ &c.] Reading here in the 
original « inftead of 0, a very fmall alteration due to the fa- 
gacity of Dr. Tonjial^ clearly preferveth the fenfe. For un- 
doubtedly Demojihenes maketh ufe of a Tranfiiion in the 
fame manner with Homer and Hecataus. I would therefore 

tranflate it thus " Demojihenes hath alfo made ufe pf 

** this Figure, not truly in a different manner, but with 
«« much more paffion and volubility." 

+ Iliad. 0. ver. 346. 

• Orat. prima in Ariftc^. p. 486. cd. Parif. 

L 4 (4) And 



CC 
CC 



i 



ii8 LoNGiNus Sed^ 27. 

" moft abandoned creature :'* Having diverted 
his difcourfe from Arijlogiton^ and feemingly 
left him, he turns again upon him, (4) and 
attacks him afrefli with more violent ftrokes of 
heat and paffion. So Penelope in Homer \^ 

(5) The lordly fuitors fend ! But why muft you 
Bring baneful mandates from that odious crew ? 
What ? muft the faithful fervants of my lord 
Forego their tasks for them to crown the board ? 
I fcorn their love, and I deteft their fight ; 
And may they jttiare their laft of feafts to-night ! 
^Why thus, ungen'rous men, devour my fon ? 

Why 

t Odyff. A ver. 681. 

(4) And attach him afrejhy &c. — ] This Figure is very 
artfully ufcd by St. Paulj in his Epiftle to the Romans, His 
drift is to (hew, that the Jews were not the people of God, 
cxclufive of tly Gentiles^ and had no more reafon than they, 
to form fuch high pretenfions, fince they had been equally 
guilty of violating the moral law of God, which was an- 
tecedent to the Mofaicy and of eternal obligation. Yet, not 
to exafperate the Jews at fetting out, and fo render them 
averfe to all the arguments be might afterwards produce, he 
hegins with the Gentiles^ and gives a black catalogue of all 
their vices, which (in reality were, as well as) appeared ex- 
ceffively heinous in the eyes of the Jews^ till in the begin- 
ning of the fecond chapter, he unexpededly turns upon 
them with, " Therefore thou art inexcufable, O man, who- 
•• foever thou art that judgeft, ver. i/* and again, ver. 3. 
*« And thinkeft thou this, O man, that judgeft them which 
<« do fuch things, and doft the fame, that thou fhalt efcape 
•' the judgment of God," &c. &c. If the whole be read 
with attention, the apoftle's art will be found furprifing, his 

elo* 



Sc(9:. 28. on the Sv BLiUE. 119 

Why riot thus, till he be quite undone ? 
Heedlefs of him, yet timely hence retire. 
And fear the vengeance of his awful fire. 
Did not your fathers oft his might commend ? 
And children you the wond'rous tale attend ? 
That injur'd hero you returned may fee. 
Think what he was, and dread what he may be. 

SECTION XXVIIL 

THAT a Periphrajis (or Circumlocution) 
is a caufe of Sublimity, no body, I think, can 

deny. 

eloquence will appear grand,, his ilrokes cutting, the attacks 
he makes on the yews fucceflive, and rifing in their ftrength. • 
(5) In thefe verfes Penelope^ after fhe had fpoke of the 
fuitors in the third perfon, feems on a fudden exafperatcd 
at their proceedings, and addrefles her difcourfe to them as 
if they were prefenty 

Why thus, ungen'rous men, devour jny fon? (ffr. 

To which paflage in Horner^ one in Virgil bears great 
refemblance, £n. iii. ver. 708. 

■ Hie pelagi tot tempeftatibus a£lus, 

Heu ! genitorem, omnis curae cafufque levamen, 
Amitto Anchifen ; hie me, pater optime, feffiim 
Deferis, heu ! tantis nequicquam ercpte periclis. 

As does a paflage alfo in the poetical book of yob^ chap, 
xvi. ver. 7. where, after he had faid of God, *' But now 
«' he hath made me weary," by a fudden Tranfttion^ he 
addrefles his fpeech to God in the words immediately follow- 
ing, ** Thou haft made defolate all my company." 

Dr. Pearce. 

(i) Arch- 



130 LpNGiNUs Sedt. 28. 

deny. For a$ in wiuiick ^n important word 

is rendered more fweet, by the divifions which 
are run harmonioufly upon it ; fo a Peripbrafis 
fweetens a difcourfe carried on in propriety of 
language, and contributes very much to the 
ornament of it, efpecially if there be no jar- 
ring or difcord in it, but every part be judi- 
cioufly and mufically tempered • This may be 
cftabliflied beyond difpute from a paflage of 
jPlato^ in the beginning of his Funeral Ora- 
tion. " (i) We have now difcharged the laft 
*' duties we owe to thefe our departed friends, 
^ *^ who thus provided, make the fatal voyag?. 

" They have been pondufted publicly oij 
^^ their way by the whole body of the city, 
^[ and in a private capcity by their parents 

"and 

♦ Xcnoph. Cyropflcd. lib. i. 

(i) Archbilbop Tillotfpn will afford us an infiance of the 
ufe of this Figure, on the fame thought almoft as ths^ 
quoted by Longinuf from Plato. 

«« When we confider, that we have but a little while to 
<« be here, ttot we are upon our journey travelling towards 
<« our heavenly country, where we (hall meet with all the 
«« delights we can defire ; it ought not to trouble us much, 
«« to endure ftorms and foul ways, and to want many of 
«' thofe accommodations we might cxpe<9: at home. This 
«< is the common fate of travellers, and we muft take things 
** as we find them, and not look to have every thing juft 
*« to our mind. Thefe difficulties and inconveniencics wiH 
<« Ihortly be over, and after a few days will be quite for- 

* " gotten. 



<c 

CC 
CC 
CC 



Scd. 28. on the SvBLi ME. izi 

*^ and relations/* Here he calls Death the 
fatal voyage^ and difcharging the Funeral Of- 
fices, a public conduBing of them by their coun^ 
try. And who can deny that the fentiment 
by this means is very much exalted ? or that 
Tlato^ by infilling a melodious Circumlocution 
has tempered a naked and barren ' thought 
with harmony and fweetnefs ? So Xenophon * r 
You look upon toil as the guide to a hap- 
py life. Your fouls are poffefs'd of the 
beft qualification, that can adorn a martial 
breaft. Nothing produces in you fuch fen- 
fible emotions ef joy, as commendation." 
By exprefling an inclination to endure toil 
in this Circumlocution, " You look upon la- 
♦^ hour as the guide to a happy life 3" and by 

enlarging 

*' gotten, and be to us as tho' they had never been. And 
** when we are fafely landed in our own country, with what 
*• pleafure fliall we look back on thofe rough and boifterous 
*' feas we have efcaped?" ift Vol. page 98. Folio. 

In each paffage Death is the principal thought, to which 
all the circumftances of the Circumlocutions chiefly refer ; 
but the Archbifhop has wound it up to a greater height, and 
tempered it with more agreeable and more extenfive fwcet*- 
nefs. Plato interrs his heroes, and then bids them «dicu ; 
but the chriftian orator condufls them to a better workU 
from whence he gives them a retrofpedl of that, thro* which 
they have paffcd ; to enlarge the comforts, and give them a 
higher enjoyment of the future. 

{z\ Tfeft 



122 L O N G I N U S Scd. 29* 

enlarging fome other words after the fame 
manner, he has not only exalted the fenfe, 
but given niew grace to his encomium. So 
that inimitable paflage of Herodotus * ; " The 
" goddefs afflifted thofe Scythians^ who had 
" facrilegioufly pillaged her temple, with (2) 
^[ the female difeafe/' 

SECTION XXIX. 

(i) Circumlocution is indeed more danger- 
ous than any other kind of Figure, unlefs it 
be ufed with great circumfpcdlion ^ it is other- 
wife very apt to grow trifling and infipid, and 
favour ftrongly of pedantry and dulnefs. For 
this reafon Plato (tho* for the generality fupe- 
rior to all in his Figures, yet being fometimes 
too lavifli of them) is ridicuPd very much for 
the following expreffion in his treatife of 
Laws: -f- " It is not to be permitted, that 

" wealth 

(2) The beauty of this Periphrajis^ which Longinus fo 
highly commends, appears not at prefent. Commentators 
indeed have laboured hard to difcover what this Difeafe was, 
and abundance of remarks learned and curious to he fur e^ 
have been made upon //. The heft way will be to imitate 
the decorum of Herodotus^ and leave it ftill a myftcry. 
* Herod. 1. I.e. 105. 

(i) Circumlocution is indeed^ &c. — ] Shakefpear, in King 
Richard thefecond, has made fick' John of Gaunt pour out 
fuch a multitude to exprefs England, as never was, nor ever 

wm 



Sed. 30^ on the Sv BLiM E. ,12^3 

** wealth of either gold or filver (hould get 
" footing or fettle in a city," Had he, fay 
the critics, forbade the poffeffion of cattle, 
he might have called it the wealth of mutton 
and beef. 

And now, what has been faid on this fub- 
jedt, will I prefume, my dear ^erentianus^ 
abundantly fhew, of what fervice Figures may 
be in producing the Sublime. For it is mani- 
feft, that all I have mentioned, render com- * 

pofitions more pathetic and afFedting. For the 
Pathetic partakes as much of the Sublime^ as 
writing exadtly in rule and character can do of 
the Agreeable. 

P A R T IV. 

SECTION XXX. 

BUT fince the fentiments and the Ian- 
guage of Compofitions are generally beft ex- 
plained 

v^ill be met with again. Some of them indeed found very 
finely, at leaft, in the ears of zxiEngli/hman: for infbnce^ 

This royal throne of kings, this feat of Mars^ 
This other Eden, demy paradife, 
This fortrefs built by nature for herfelf 
Againft infedicm and the hand of war; 
This happy breed of men, this little world. 
This precious ftone fet in the filver fca»' ■ 

t Plato de legibus, 1. 5 • p. 741. ed. Par. 

(I) There 



-124 LONGINUS Sc<a. 30, 

plained by the light they throw upon one 
another, let us in the next place confider, 
what it is that remains to be laid concerning 
the DiSiion. And here, that a judicious choice 
of proper and magnificent terms has wonder^ 
•ful effedls in winning upon and entertain- 
ing an audience, cannot, I think, be denied. 
For it is from hence, that the greateft writers 
derive with indefatigable care the grandeur, 
the beauty, the folemnity, the weight, the 
Ih^ngth, and the energy of their expreffions. 
This clothes a Compofition in the moft beau- 
tiful drefs, makes it fhine like a pidlure, in 
all the gaiety of colour ; and in a word, it ani* 
mates our thoughts, and infpires them with 
a kind of vocal life. But it is needlefs to 
dwell upon tbefe particulars, before perfons of 
fo much tafte and experience. Fine words 
are indeed the peculiar light, in which our 
thoughts muft fliine. But then it is by no 
means proper, that they fhould every where 
fwell and look big. Por drefling up a trifling 
fubjedt in grand and exalted fexpreiSons, makes 

the 

(1) There never was a line of higher grandeur, or more 
honourable to human nature, exprefled at the fame time in 
a greater plainnefs and fimplicity of terms> than the follow- 
ing, in the EJfay on man. 

An honefl matfs the noblef{ work of God. 

(1) Images 



V- 



8edt. 31* on tht Sublime, ^25 

the fame ridiculous appearance, as the efior^- 
ttious itiafk of a tragedian would do upon 
the diminutiTe face of an infant. But in 
poetry * ^^^^-s^***** 

* * \T!be remainder of thisfe£Hon is loft.'\ * 

SECTION XXXI. 

^ * ^ * * ^qTj^ beginning of thisfeSiion 
is lo/i.] * * * In this verfe of Anacreon 
the t^rms are vulgar^ yet there is a fimplicity 
in it, which pleafes, becaufe it is natural : 

Nor fliall this Tbracian vex me more ! (i) 

And for this reafon, that celebrated expreffion 
of T'heopompus feems to me the moft fignifi- 
cant of any I ever met with, tho' Cecilius has 
found fomething to blame in it, " Philip (fays 
*^ he) was ufed to fwallow affronts, in com- 
*^ pliance with the exigencies of his affairs/' 

(2) Vulgar terms are fometimes much more 
fignificant, than the mofl ornamental could 

pofGbly 

(2) Images, drawn from common life or familiar objects, 
Hand in need of a deal of judgment to fupport and keep 
them from finking, but have a much better eiFedl, and are. 
far more expreHive, when managed by a skilful hand, 

than thofe of a higher nature: th^ truth of this remark 



JS 



126 LoNGiNUs Sed:. 31* 

poffibly be. They are eafily undcrflood, be- 
caufe borrowed from common life; and what 
is moft familiar to us, fooneft engages our be- 
lief. Therefore when a perfon, to promote 
his ambitious defigns, bears ill treatment and 
reproaches not only with patience, but a 
feeming pleafure, to fay that he fwallows af- 
fronts^ I 

is vifible from thcfe lines in Shahfpearh Romeo and Juliet z 

.. ■ I would have thee gone, 

And yet no further than a wanton*s bird. 
That lets it hop a little from her hand. 
Like a poor prifoner in his twifted gyves. 
And with a fUk thread pulls it back again. 
So loving jealous of its liberty. — • 

Mr. Addifin has made ufe of an Image of a lower nature 
in his Cato^ where the lover cannot part with his miftrefs 
without the higheft regret ; as the lady could not with her 
lover in the former inftance from Shakefpear. He has touched 
it with equal delicacy and grace: 

Thus o^er the dying lamp th' unfteady flame 
Hangs quivering to a point ; leaps ofF by fits. 
And falls again, as loth to quit its hold. 

I have ventured to give thefe inftanccs of the beauty and 
ftrength of Images taken from low and common obje£b, 
bccaufe what the Critic fays of Terms^ holds equally in re- 
gard to Images. An expreffion is not the worfe for being 
obvious and familiar, for a judicious application gives it new 
dignity and ftrong fignificance. All images and words are 
dangerous to fuch as want genius and fpirit. By their ma- 
nagement, grand words and images improperly thrown to- 
gether fink into burlefque and founding nonfeofe, and the 

caf/ 



Sed.3i' on tie SvBLiMii 127 

fronts^ is as happy and exprcffive a phrafe as 
could poffibly be invented. The following 
paflage from Herodotus in iriy opinion coincs 
very near it *• " Cleomemes (fays he) being* 
" feized v^rith madnefs, with a little knife 
*^ that he had, cut his flefh into fmall pieces, 
" till having entirely mangled his body, he 

" ex- 

eafy and familiar arc tortured into infipidfu/lian. A true 

genius will fteer fecurely in cither courfe, and with fuch bold 

i'aflinefs on particular occafions, that he will almoft touch 

upon rocks, yet never receive any damage. This remark, 

in that part of it which regards the Terms, may be illuflrated , 

by the following lines of Shaie/pear, fpokcn by jfpmantus 

to Timon^ when he had abjured all human fociety, and vow'd 

to pafs the remainder of his days in a defert* 

I - What? think'ft thou 
That the bleak air, thy boiftr'ous chamberlain. 
Will put thy fhirt on warm ? will thcfc moift trees. 
That have out-liv*d the eagle, page thy heelsj 
And skip when thou point'ft out? will the cold brook> 
Candied with ice, cawdle thy morning tafte 
To cure thy o'er-night's fuirfeit ? Cdl the creatures, 
Whofe naked natures live in all the fpite 
Of wreakful heav'n, whofe bare unhoufed trunks. 
To the conflifting elements exposed, 
Anfwer mere nature; bid them flatter theej 
Oh! thou fhak find > 

The whole is carried on with fo much fpiritj and fup- 
ported by fuch an air of fokmnity, that it is noble and af* 
fefting. Yet the fame exprcffions and allufions, in inferior 
hands, might have retained their ori2;inal bafenefs, and been 
quite ridiculous. * Herod. 1. 6. c, 75. 

M (1} De- 



128 LoNGiNUs Se<9:*32, 

** expired/' And again -f-, ^* Pytbes remain- 
" ing ftill in the (hip, fought courageoufly, till 
.*^ he was hack'd in pieces/' Thefc expref- 
fions approach near to Vulgar^ but are fir 
from having vulgar fignifications. 

SECTION XXXII. 

A S to a proper number of Metaphors^ C^- 
cilius has gone into their opinion, yfho have 
fettled it at two or three at moft, in exprefling 
the fame objed:. But in this alfo, let De* 
tnojihenes be obfervcd as our model and guide ; 
and by him we (hall find, that the proper 
time to apply them, is, when the paflions are 
fo much worked up, as to hurry on like a 
torrent, and unavoidably carry along with them 



(i) Demojfhtmsj in this indance^ burfts not out upon the 
traiterous creatures of Philips with fuch bitternefs and fcve- 
rity, ftrikes them not dumb, with fuch a continuation of 
vehement and cutting Metaphors, as St. Jude fomc profli- 
gate wretches in his Epiftle, ver. 12, 15, 

" Thefe are fpots in your feafts of charity, when they 
** feaft with you, feeding themfelves without fear: clouds 
** they are without water, carried about of winds : trees, 
«* whofe fruit withereth, without fruit,' plucfc'd up by the 
•* roots : raging waves of the fea, foaming out their own 
<« (hame: wandring ftars, to whom is refcrvcd the blacknefs 
*< of darkneis for ever. 

By 



Sed. 32« on thi Sublime. j20 

a whok croud of metaphors, (i) " Thofc 
** proftitutcd fouls^ thofe cringing traitors, 
•' thofe furies of die commonwealth, who 
*' have combined to wound and mangle their 
^^ country, who have drank up its liberty in 
*' healths, to Philip once, and fince to Alex^ 
*^ ander^ meafuring their happinefs by their 
^* belly and their luft. As for thofe gene- 
^ rous principles of honour, and that maxim^ 
** never to endure a majiery which to our 
" brave fore-fathers, were the high ambition 
" of life, and the ftandard of felicity, thefe 
" they have quite fubverted." Here, by 
means of this multitude of Tropes^ the ora- 
tor burfts out upon the traitors in the warmeft 
indignation. It is however the precept of 
Arijiotle ^nd T^eophraftus^ that bold Meta-^ 

phors 

By how much the bold defence of ChrifHanity, ^gainff j 

the lewd pra£tices, infatiable lufts, and impious blafphemies 
of wicked abandoned men, is more glorious than the de- 
fence of a petty ftate, againft the intrigues of a foreign ty- 
rant; or, by how much more honourable and praife-woitthy 
it is, to contend for the glory of God and religion, than thd 
reputation of one republic ; by fo much^ does this paffagd 
of the Apoftle exceed that of DemoftheneSi commended by 
Longinus, in force of expreffion, livelincfs of Allufion, and 
height of Sublimity^ 

t Herod. 1. 7. c. i8<. 

M t (*) Thiy 



ijo LoNGiNus Seft. 32, 

pbori ought to be introduced with fome fmall 
alleviations ; fuch as, if it may be fo exprefs'd^ 
and as it were^ and if I may fpeak with fo 
much boldnefs. For this excufe, fay they, 
very much palliates the hardnefs of the Fi- 
gures. 

Such a rule has a general ufe, and there- 
fore I admit it 5 yet ftill I maintain what I 
advanced before in regard to Figures, that bold 
(2) Metaphors, and thofe too in good plenty 
are very fcafonable in a noble cortipoution, 
where they are always mitigated and foften'd, 
by the vehement Pathetic and generous 
Sublime difperfcd through the whole. For 
as it is the nature of the Pathetic and Sub- 
limcj to run rapidly along, and carry all be- 
fore 

^ ''A'TrofJLVfifjtov, 1. I. c. 45. ed. Oxon. 
f Plato in Tiamo paflim. 

(2) This remark (hews the penetration of the judgment 
of Longinusj and proves the propriety of the ftrong M^ta* 
phors in Scripture; as when '* Arrows are faid to be drunk 
<• with blood/* and *• a fword to devour flefh." (Deut. 
xxxii. 42.) It illuftrates the eloquence of St; Paul^ who ufes 
ftronger, more expreffive, and more accumulated Metaphors^ 
than any other writer ; as when, for inftance, he ftiles his 
converts, " His joy, his crown, his hope, his glory, his 
<• crown of rejoicing." (Phil. iii. 9.) When he exhorts them 
*« to put on Chrift." (Rom. Xiii. 14.) When he fpeaks 
againft the heathens, " who had changed the truth of God 
'« into a lye.'* (Rom. i, 25.) When againft wicked men, 

•• whofc 



Sc(3:*32. on the Sv "B LIME. 131 

fore them, fo they require the Figures, they 
are worked up in, to be ftrong and forcible, 
and do not fo much as give leifure to a hearer, 
to cavil at their number, becatife they imme- 
diately ftrike his imagination, and inflame 
him veith all the warmth and fire of the 

fpeaker. 

But further, in Illujirations and Defcrip^ 
tionsy there is nothing fo expreffive and figni- 
ficant, as a chain of continued Tropes. By 
thefe has Xenophon * defcribed, in fo pompous 
and magnificent terms, the anatomy of the 
human body. By thefe has Plato -f* defcribed 
the fame thing, in fo unparallel'd, fo divine a 
manner. " (3) The head of man he calls 2l ci- 
[^ tadeK The neck is an ijlhmus placed be- 

" tween 

** whofc end is dcftru£lion, whofc God is their belly, and 
*« whofc glory is their fliamc/' (Phil iii. 19.) See a chain 
oijlrong ones, Rom. iii. 13—18. 

(3) The Allegory or chain of Metaphor s that occurs in 
Pfalm Ixxx. 8. is no way inferior to this of Plato. Tho 
royal author fpe^ks thus of the people of Ifrael^ under the 
Metaphor of a vine: 

<* Thou haft brought a vine out of Egypt : thou haft 

«< caft out the heathen and planted it. Thou madeft room 

<< for it, and when it had taken root, it filled the land. The 

<« hills were covered with the fhadow of it, and the boughs 

« thereof were like the goodly cedar-trees. She ftretch'd 

<< out her branches unto the fea, and her boughs unto the 

*< river." Dr. Pearce, 

Ms St. 



cc 

cc 



cc 
cc 



132 LoNGiNus Se£l.32« 

•* twccn the head and the bread. The ver^ 
" tebrte or joints, on which it turns, are fo 
" many hinges. Pleafure is the bait, which 
" allures men to evil, and the tongue is the 
" informer of taftes. The heart, being the 
knot of the veins, and the fountain firom 
whence the blood arifes, and briskly circu- 
^^ latcs through all the members, is a watch- 
*' tower completely fortified. The pores be 
•" calls narrow ftreets. And becaufe the heart 
is fubjedt to violent palpitations, either when 
difturbed with fear of fome impending 
?* evil, or when inflamed with wrath, the 
gods, fays be^ have provided againft any 
ill effedt that might hence arife, by giving 
^Va place in the body to the lungs, a foft 

*^ and 

St. Paul has nobly dcfcrlbed, in a continuation of Mi- 
iaphorsy the Chriflian armour, in his epiflle to the Ephejiam^ 
chap. vi. 13 

The fublime defcription of the horfe, in Job chap, xxxix. 
19-25. has been highly applauded by feveral writers. The 
reader may fee fome juft obfervations on it, in the Guardian 
N*" 86. But the xxixth chapter of the fame book will afibrd 
as fine inftances of the beauty and energy of this Figure, a^ 
can any where be met with. 

*« Oh that I were as in months paft, as in the days when 

«« God preferyed me! when the Almighty was yet with 

*« me, when my children were about mp : when I wafhed 
«' my fteps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers 

ci of oil ! When the ear heard me, then it bleflcd me; 

"and 



cc 
cc 



Se(9:.32. o» //5^ S y b li m e. 133 

" and bloodlefs fubftancc, furnifhed with in- 
" ward vacuities, like a fponge, that when- 
*^ ever choler infkmes the heart, the lungs 
fhould eafily yield, fhould gradually break 
its violent ftrokes, and prefervc it from 
harm. The feat of the concupifcible pafr- 
fions, be has named the apartment of the 
women ; the feat of the irafcible, the 
apartment of the Men. The fpleen is 
the fponge of the entrails, from whence 
*^ when filled with excrements, it is fwcU'd 
and bloated. Afterwards (proceeds he) the 
gods covered all thofe parts with flefh^ 
their rampart and defence againft the ex- 
tremities of heat and cold, foft through- 
out like a cuihion, and gently giving way 

" to 

«« and when the eye faw me, it gave witncfs to me.— — • 
^< The bleiling of him that was ready to perifh, came upon 
** me, and I caufed the widow's heart to fing for joy. I 
<^ put on righteoufneis, and it clothed me: my judgment 
<^ was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and 
<* feet was J to the lame. I was a £ither to the poor.— 

There is another beautiful ufe of this Figure in the latter 
part of the Ixvth PJalm. The defcription is lively, and 
what the French call riante^ or laughing. It has indeed been 
frequently obferved, that the Eaftern writings abound very 
much in ftrong Metaphors^ but in Scripture they arc always 
fupported by a ground-worjc of mafculine and nervous 
ftrength, without whi^h they are apt to fwell into ridiculous 

M4 (4)^;>' 



<c 

<c 

<( 



cc 
<c 



11^ LoNGiNus Sc6t. 32. 

** to outward imprcffions. The blood he calls 
" the pafture of the flcfh 5 and adds, that 
" for die fake of npurifhing the remotcft 
^^ parts, they opened the body into a num- 
^* ber of rivulets, like a garden well ftock'd 
^' with plenty of canals, that the veins might 
" by this means receive their fupply of the 
^' vital moifture from the heart, as the com- 
** mon fource, and convey it thro' all the 
" fluices of the body. And at the approach 
^^ of death, the foul, be fays^ is loofed, like 
*' a fhip from her cables, and left at the li- 
" berty of driving at pleafure/' Many other 
turns of the fanie nature in the fequel might 
be adjoined, but thefe already abundantly 
fhew, that Tropes are naturally endued with 
an air. pf Grandeur, that Metaphors contri- 
bute very much to Sublimity, and are of very 
important fcrvice, in dpfcriptive and pathetic 
Compofitions. 

That the ufe of Tropes, ^s well as of all 
other things, which *arc ornamental in dif- 
courfe, may be carried to cxcefs, is obvious 
enough, tho' I fliould not mention it. Hence 
it comes to pafs, that many feverely cenfurc 

Plato, 

(4) ^yfi^^ ^** on^ ^^ ^^^ '^^ celebrated orators of Athens. 
fic was a neat, elegant, corrcA, and witty writer, but not 
fublixnt. Cicero calls him ptafi perfe^i^, almoft perfeA. 

^inlfiliau 






CC 



Scd. 32. 0» lf/5« Su B LI MBt 135 

P/^/(?, becaufc oftentimes, as if he was mad to 
utter his words, he fufFers himfelf to be hur- 
ried into raw undigefted Metaphors, and a 
vain pomp of Allegory. " For is it not (fays 
he) * eafy to conceive, that a city ought to 
refemblc a goblet replenilhed with a well- 
tempered mixture ? where, when the foam- 
** ing deity of wine is poured in, it fparkles 
*' and fumes j but when chaftifed by another 
more fober divinity, it joins in firm al- 
liance, and compofes a pleafant and pala- 
table liquor/' For (fay they) to call water 
a fober divinity^ and the mixture cba/iifemenf^ 
is a fhrewd argument, that the author was not 
very fober himfelf. 

Cecilius had certainly thefe trifling flou- 
riflies in view, when he had the raftinefs in 
his effay on (4) LyJiaSy to declare him much 
preferable to Plato ; biafs'd to it by two paC- 
fions equally indifcreet. For tho' he loved 
Lyjias as jwrell as his own felf, yet he hated 
Plato with more violence, than he could poC- 
fibly love Lyfias. Befides, he was hurried on 
by fo much heat and prejudice, as to pren 
fume on the concefTion of certain points, 

which 

j^inSlilian fays he was more like a clear fountain, than a 
great river. 
f Plato, 1. 6. d^ Icgibus, p. 773. cd. Par. 



J36 LoNGiNOs Se<ft. ^1. 

which never will be granted. For Plato be- 
ing oftentimes faulty, he thence takes occa- 
fion to cry up Ljffias for a faultlefs and con- 
fummate writer, which is fo far from beii^ 
truth, that it has not fo much as the fhadow 
of it. 



SECTION xxxm. 

BUT let us for once admit the pofllbilitj 
of a faultlefs and confumoiate writer ^ and 
then, will it not be worth while to con&der 
at large that important queflion, Whether ip 
poetry or profe, what is truly grand in the 
midfl of fome faults, be not preferable to 
that, which has nothing extraordinary in its 
beft parts, correft however throughout, and 
faultlefs? And further, Whether the excel- 
lence of fine-writing confifb in the numbar 
of its beauties, or in the grandeur of it; 
flrokes ? For thefe pomts, being peculiar to 
the Sublime, demand an illuffaration. 

I readily allow, that writers of a lofty and 
towVing genius are by no means pure and cor- 

reft, 

(i) In pajjing iur judgment j &c.] So Horaciy Ep. /• ii. 
Ep. u 262. 

Difclt enim cities meminttque libentids illud, 

Quodquis deridet, quim quod probat & Veneratur. 

(2) / 



I 



Sed^33* on the Sv BLiME. ity 

red:^ fince whatever is neat and accurate 
throughout, muft be exceedingly liable to flat- 
ncfs. In the Sublime, as in great affluence 
of fortune, fome minuter articles will una- 
voidably cfcape obfervation. But it is almoft 
impoffible for a low and grov'ling genius to 
be guilty of error, fince he never endangers 
himfelf by foaring on high, or aiming at emi- 
nence, but ftill goes on in the fame uniforai 
fecure track, whilfl: its very height and gran- 
deur expofes the Sublime to fudden falls. Nor 
am I ignorant indeed of another thing, which 
will no doubt be urged, that (i) in pafling 
our judgment upon the works of an author, 
we always mufter his imperfections, fo that 
the remembrance of his faults flicks indeli- 
bly fefl: in the mind, whereas that of his ex- 
cellencies is quickly worn out. For my part, 
I have taken notice of no inconfiderable num- 
ber of faults in Homer ^ and fome other of the 
greateft^uthors, and cannot by any means 
bebwopr partial to them; however, (2) I 
judge them* 'not to be vpluqtary faults, fo much 
as accidental flipS iijcurr'd thro* inadvertence 5 

fuci 

(2) I judge them, &c.] So Horace, AnPoeu 351, 

-.Ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis 
pffendor maculis, quas aut iHcuria fudit, 
Aut humana parum cavit natura ■■ ■ .n 



IjS LONGINUS Scd. 33. 

fuch as, when the mind is intent upon things 
of a higher nature, will creep infenfibly into 
compofitions. And for this reafon I give it I 
as my real opinion, that the great and noble 
flights, (3) tho* they cannot every where boaft 
an equality of perfedlion, yet ought to carry 
oflF the prize, by the fole merit of their own 
intrinfic grandeur. 

(4) Apollonius^ author of the Argonautics^ i 
was a writer without a blemifh : and no one 
ever fucceeded better in Paftoral than T^seocri-- 
fuSi excepting fome pieces where he has quit- 
ted his own province. But yet, would you 
chufe to be Apottonius or Theocritus rather 

than 

{%) Thf they cannot every where hoajl^ &c.] So Mr. Pope^ 
in the fpirit of Longinus: 

Great wits fometimes may glorioufly ofiend. 

And rife to faults true critics dare not mend ; 

From vulgar bounds with brave diforder part. 

And fnatch a grace beyond the rules of art ; 

Which, without paffing thro' the judgment, g^un? 

The heart, and all its end at once attains. 

EJfay en Criticifm. 

(4) JpoUonius was born at Alexandria^ but called a Rho^ 
dian, becaufe he refided at Rhodes. He was the fcholar of 
CalUmachusj2iT\A (ucQetded Erato/lhenes zs keeper of P/^/^iwy's 
library : He wrote the Argonautics^ which are flill extant. 
Of thb poet ^inlfilian has thus given his judgment, /»/?//• 
erat. L x. c. i. ** He publifhed a performance, which was ' 
♦« not defpicable, but had a certain even m^iocrity through* 
f < put." Dr. Pem^. 

(5) Erei^ 



Seft. 33. on the SviLiu b. , • 139 

than Homer? Is the poet (5) Eratojlbeves^ 
whofe Erigone is a complete and delicate per- 
formance, and not chargeable with one fault, 
to be efteem'd a fuperior poet to Archilochus^ 
who flies joff into many and brave irregula- 
rities; a godlike fpirit bearing him forwards 
in the nobleft career, fuch fpirit as will not 
bend to rule, or eafily brook controul ? In 
Lyrics^ would you fooner be (6) Bacchyiides 
than Pindar^ or (7) 7a the Chi an ^ than the great 
Sophocles? Bacchylides and lo have written 
fmoothly, delicately, and corredly, they have 
left nothing without the niceft decoration i but 
in Pindar and Sophocles^ who carry fire along 

with 

(5) Eratofthenes the Cynnaany fcholar o( CalUmachus the 
poet. Among other pieces of poetry, he wrote the Erigone. 
He was predcccflbr to ApolUnius^ in Ptokmf% library at 
Alexandria, Dr. Pearce. 

(6) Bacchylides a Greei poet, famous for lyric verfe; 
born at lulis^ a town in the ifle of Ceos. He wrote the 
jtpodemicsj qv the travels of a deity. The emperor Julian 
was fo pleas'd with his verfes, that he is iaid to have drawn 
from thence rules for the condud of life. And Hura the 
Syracufan thought them preferable even to Pindar\ by a 
judgment quite contrary to what is given here by Longinus. 

^ Dr. Pearci^ 

(7} lo the Chian, a dithyramlic poet, who, befides Odes, 

is faid to have compofed forty Fabl^ He is called by Arijlo^ 

phaneSy The eajlem Jlar^ becaufe he died, whilft he was 

writing an Ode that began with tbofe words* Dr. Pearce. 

(8) Thtf 



140 LoNGiNUs Sed. 34* 

with them thro' the violence of their mo« 
don, that very fire is many times unfestibn- 
ably quench'd, and then they drop moft tMi- 
fortunately down. But yet no one, I am 
certain, who has the leafl difcernment, will 
fcruple to prefer the fingle (8) Oedipus of Sophh 
cles, before all that lo ever compofcd. 

SECTION XXXIV. 

IF the beauties of writers are to be efti- 
mated by their number, and not by their 
quality or grandeur, then Hyperides will 
prove far fuperior to Demofthenes. He has 
more harmony and a finer cadence, h5 has a 
greater number of beauties, and thofe in a 
degree almoft next to excellent. He refcmbles 
a champion, who, profeffing himfelf mafter of 
tlie five cxercifes, in each of them feverally 

muft 

(8) The Oedipus Tyrannus^ the moft cekbratcd trag^y 
of Sophocles^ which (as Dr. Pearce obferves) poets of almoft 
all nations have endeavoured to imitate^ tho' in my opinion 
very little to their^ credit. 

(i ) The graces — e/^Lyfias.] For the clearer underftand- 
ing of this paflage, we muft obferve, that there are two ((xXb 
of graces ; the one majeftic and grave, and proper for the 
poets, the other fimple and like ralleries in comedy. Thofe 
of the laft fort, enter into* the compofition of the poliihed 
ftile, called by the rhetoricians yhApv^h hhyovi and of this 

kind 



SeA. 34« oA the S u B l i m e. x^t 

mull yield the fuperioirity to others, but in all 
together ftands alone and unrivaird. For Hy^ 
ferides has in every point, except the ftruc- 
tore of his words, imitated all the virtues of 
JDemoftbenes^ and has abundantly added ( i ) the 
graces and beauties of L^as. When his fub* 
jed: demands fimplicity, his ftile is exquifite- 
ly finooth ; nor does he utter every thing, with 
one emphatical air of vehemence, like De^ 
mojihenes. His thoughts are always juft and 
proper, ternpered with moft delicious fweet- 
nefs and the fofteft harmony of words. His 
turns of wit arc inexpreffibly fine. He raifes 
a laugh with the greateft art, and is prodi* 
gioufly dextrous at irony or fneer. His ftrokes 
of rallery are far from ungenteel 5 by no 
means far-fetch'd, like thofe of the depraved 
imitators oi Attic neatnefs, but appolite and 
proper. How Ikilfiil at evading an. argument ! 

With 

• 

kind were the graces of Lyjiasj who in the judgment of 
Dionyfius oi Halicarnafs^ excelled in ihtf oKJhid Qilti and 
for this reafon Ciaro calls him, -venuftiffimum oratorem. 
We have one inftance of the graces of this pretty orator: 
Speaking one day againft ^fchines^ who was in love with 
an old woman, '^ He is enamoured (cried he} with a lady, 
«( whofe teeth may be counted eafier than her fingers*^ 
Upon this account Denutrius has rankM the graces oiLyfias^ 
in the fame clafs^ with tho^ of Sef broth a farce- writer. 

Dacier. 



V42 LoNGiNus Sec^* 34i 

With what humour docs he lidlcule, and with 
what dexterity does he fting in the midft of a 
fmile ! In a word, there are inimitably graces 
in all he fays. Never did any one more art- 
fully excite compafSon 5 never was any more 
diiRife in narration ; never any more dextrous 
at quitting and refuming his fubjeft, with fiich 
cafy addrefs, and fuch pliant adtivity. This 
plainly appears in his little poetical fables of 
Latonai and beiides, he has compofed a fiineral 
oration with fuch pomp and ornament, as I 
believe never will, or can, be equall'd. 

JDemojihenesy on the other fide, has been I 
unfuccefsful in reprefenting the humours and 

ch^ 

(2) Hyperides^ of whom mention has been thade already, 
and whom the author in this fedion compares with De^ 
mojihenesy was one of the ten famous orators oi Athens He 
was Platoh fcholar, and thought by fome to have fharcd 
with Lycurgus in the public adminiftration. His orations 
for Phryne and Jthenogenes were very much efteemcd, tho' 
his defence of the former owed its fuccef^to a very remarka** 
ble incident, mentioned by Plutardr, {Life of the ten era* 
tors^ in Hyperides.) 

Phryne was the moft famous courtezan of that age ; her 
form fo' beautiful, that it was taken as a model, for all the 
fiatues of Vefius carved at that time, throughout Greece: 
Yet an intrigue between her and Hyperides grew fo fcanda- 
* lous, that an accufation was preferred againft her, in the 
courts of Athens. Hyperides defended her with all the art 
and rhetoric, which experien^ and love could teach hira, 
and his oration for her was as pretty and beautiful as his 

fub]e& 



^ SeO:. 341 on the Sublime. 143 

i chara(3:ers of men \ he was a ftranger to dif- 

s fiifive eloquence ; aukward in his addrefs ; void 

B of all pomp and fhow in his language \ and in 

■ a word, for the moft part deficient in all the 

qualities afcribed to Hyperides. Where his 

fubjedt compels him to be merry or facetious, 

he makes people laugh, but it is at himfelf. 

And the more he endeavours at rallery, the 

more diftant is he from it. (2) Had he ever 

attempted an oration for a Phryne or an Atbc" 

nogenesy he would in fuch attempts have only. 

fcrved as a foil to Hyperides^ 

Yet after all^ in my opinion, the nume- 
rous beauties of Hyperides are far from having 

any 

fubjedt But as what is ipokc to the ears makes not fo deep 
an impreffion, as what is fhewn to the eyes, Hyperides found 
his eloquence unavailing, and tfic£hially to foften the judges, 
uncovered the lady's bofom. Its fnowy whitenefs was an 
argument in her favour not to be refified, and therefore (he 
was immediately acquitted. 

Longinus*s remark is a compliment to Hyperides^ but docs 
a lecret honour to Demojihenes, Hyperides was a graceful^ 
genteel fpeaker, one that couW fay pretty things, divert his 
audience* and when a lady was the topic, quite out-fhine 
Demofthenes'y whofe eloquence was too grand to appear for 
any thing, but honour and liberty. . Then he could warm, 
tranfport, and triumph; could revive in his degenerate coun- 
trymen a love of their country and a zeal for freedom; could 
make them cry out in rage and fury, " Let us arm, let 
•* us away, let us march againft Philip.** 

N (i) We 



ij^j^ L o N G I N u s beet. 34. 

any inherent greatncfs. They (hew the fe- 
datenefs and fobriety of the author's genius, 
but have not force enough to enliven or to 
warm an audience. No one that reads him, 
Is ever fenfible of extraordinary emotion. 
• Whereas Demojlhenes adding to a continued 
vein of grandeur and to magnificence of dic- 
tion (the greateft qualifications requifitc in an 
orator) fuch lively ftrokes of paflion, fuch 
copioufnefs of words, fuch addf efs, and fuch 
rapidity of fpeech; and, what is his matter- 
piece, fuch force and vehemence, as tl^c 
greateft writers befides durft never afpirc to; 
being, I fay, abundantly furniflied with all 
thefe divine (it would be fin to call them 
human) abilities, he excels all before him in 
the beauties which are really his own j and 
to atone for deficiencies in thofe he has not, 
overthrows all opponents with the irrefiftiblc 
force, and the glittering blaze, of his light- 
ning. For it is much eafier to behold, with 
ftedfaft and undazzled eyes, the flafhing light- 
ning, than thofe ardent ftrokes of the Pa- 
thetic, which come fo thick one upon another 
in his orations. 



SEC- 



Scd. 25' ^ ^^^ Sublime. 14^ 

SECTION XXXV. 

THE parallel between Plato and his op- 
ponent muft be drawn in a different light. 
For Lji^ not only falls fhort of him in the 
excellence, but in the number alfo, of his 
beauties. And what is more, he not only falls 
ihort of him in the number of his beauties^ but 
exceeds him vaiUy in the number of his faults. 

What then can we fuppofe that thofe god*- 
like writers . had in view, who laboured fo 
much 'in raifing their compofitions to the 
highefl: pitch of the Sublime, and look'd down 
with contempt upon accuracy and correct- 
ncfs?-— Amongft others, let this reafon be 
accepted. Nature never defigned man to be a 
grov'ling and ungenerous animal, but brought 
him into life, and placed him in the world, 
as in a crouded theatre, not to be an idle ■ 
fpeftator, but fpurr'd on by an eager thirft 
of excelling, ardently to contend in the pdr- 
fuit of glory. For this purpofe, fhe im- 
planted in hjs foul an invincible love of gran- 
deur, and a conftant emulation of whatever 
feems to approach nearer to divinity than him- 
felf. Hence it is, that the whole univerfe is 
not fufficient, for the extenfive reach and 
piercing fpeculation of the huqian under- 

N 2 ftanding. 



146 L o N G I N u s SeA. 25- 

ftanding. It paffes the bounds of the mate- 
rial world, and lanches forth at pleafure into 
cndlefs fpace. Let any one take an exadt 
furvey of a life, which, in its every fcene, is 
confpicuous on account of excellence, gran- 
deur, and beauty, and he will foon difcern for 
what noble ends we were born. Thus the 
impulfe of nature inclines us to admire, not 
a little clear tranfparent rivulet that minifters 
to our neceflities, . but the Nile, the Jj/fer^ 
the Rhine, or ftill much more, the Ocean. 
We are never furprifed at the fight of a fmall 
fire that burns clear, and blazes out on our 
own private hearth, but view with amaze 
the celeftial fires, tho' they are often ob- 

fcured 

(I) We have a noble dcfcription of the vulcano of Mtna 
in VirgiL Mn. L iii. v. 571. which will illuftrate jhis paflage 
in Longinus: 

Horrificis juxta tonat ^tna minis, 

Interdumque atram prorumpit ad aethera nubem. 
Turbine fumantem piceo & candente favillS, 
Attollitque globos flammarum, & iidera lambit: 
Interdum fcopulos, avolfaque vifcera montis 
Erigit eru£bns, liquefadbque faxa fub auras 
Cum g^mitu glomerat, fundoque exxftuat imo. 

The coaft where Mtna lies. 



Horrid and wafie, its entrails fraught with fire ; 
That now cafis out dark fumes and pitchy clouds, 



Vaft 



• i 



Scd. 36. on the Sublime/ 14.7 

fcured by vapours and eclipfes. (i) Nor do 
we reckon any thing in nature more won- 
derful than the boiling furnaces of JEtnay 
which caft up ftones, and fometimes whole 
rocks, from their labouring abyfs, and pour , 
out whole rivers of liquid and unmingled 
flame. And from hence we may infer, that 
whatever is ufefiil and neceffary to man, 
lies level to his abilities, and is eafily ac- i 
quired; but whatever exceeds the common ., 
iize, is always great, and always amazing. 

SECTION XXXVL 

WITH regard therefore to thofe fublimc 

writers, 

Vaft (how'rs of aflies hov'ring in the fmoke ; 
Now bolches molten Aones, and ruddy flames 
Incens'd, or tears up mountains by the roots, 
Or flings a broken rock aloft in air. 
The bottom works with fmother'd fire, involved 
In peftilential vapours, fiench, and fmoke. 

Mr. Addifm. 

Longinus's fliort defcription has the fame fpirit and gran- 
deur with FirgiPs. The Jidera lambit in the fourth line has 
the /well in it, which Longinus^ Sed:, iii. calh/uper-tragicai 
This is the remark jof Dr. Pearce ; and it is obfervable, 
.that Mr. Addifoh has taken no notice of thofe words in his 
tranflatxoa 

N 3 (0 Never 



1 



148 L O N G I N U S Scd, 26. 

writers, whofe flight, however exalted (i) 
• never feils of its ufe and advantage, we muft 
add another confideration. — Thofe other in- 
ferior beauties ihew their authors to be men, 
but the Sublime makes near approaches to the 
/height of God. What is correct and fault- 
I lefs, comes oflF barely without cenfure, but 
I the Grand and the Lofty command admira- 
tion. What cati I add further f One exalted 
and fublime ientiment in thofe noble authors 
makes ample amends for all their defe<5ls. 
And what is moft remarkable ; were the er- 
rors of Homer ^ Demq/ihenes^ Plato, and the 
refl: of the moft celebrated authors, to be 
cuird carefully out and thrown together, they 
would not bear the leaft proportion to thofe 
infinite, thofe inimitable excellencies, which 
are fo confplcuous in thefe heroes of anti- 
quity. And for this reafon has every age and 

every 

(i) IN ever fails of its ufe and advantage.'} Langinus in 
the preceding fedion had faid, that men " view with amaze 
" the celeftial fires (fuch as the Sun and Moon) the* they 
« are frequently obfcured ;** the c^fe is the feme with ^he 
burning mountain JEtna, tho' it cafls up pcrnicfous fire from 
its abyfs: But here, when he returns to the fubh'me authonj, 
he intimates, that the Sublime is the more to be admired bc- 
caufe far from being ufelefs or amufing, it is of great fervice 
to its authors, as well as to the public. Dt. Pioret. 

(2) The 



Sedl. 36. on /^S^ S u b n m e. 14^ 

every genoratidn, unmoved by partiality and 
unbiafled by envy, av^rarded the laurels to 
thefe great mafters, which flourifh ftill green 
and unfading on their brow^s, and will 
flourifli. 

As long as ftreams in (ilver mazes rove. 

Or Spring with annual green renews the grove. 

Fenton. 

A certain writer objefts here, that an ill- 
wrought (2) Colojfus cannot be fet upon the 
level with a little faultlefs Statue ; for inftance, 
( 3 ) the little foldier of Polycletus ; but the 
anfwer to this is very obvious. In the works 
of art we have regard to exadt proportion; 
in thofe of nature, to grandeur and magnifi- 
cence. Now fpeech is a gift beftowed upon 
us by nature. As therefore refemblance and 
proportion to the originals is required in fta- 

tucs, 

(2) The Colojfus was a moft fiimous ftatue of JpBllo^ 
crefied at Rhodes by Jafyfius^ of a fize Yo vaft, that the 
fea ran, and (hips of the greateft burden failed between its 
legs. Idem, 

(3) The Doryphorus, a fmall ftatue by Polycletus a cele- 
brated ftatuary. The proportions were fo finely obferved in 
it, that Lyfippus profefled he bad learned all his art from the 
ftudy and imitation of it. 

N4 (I) The 



1^0 LoNGiNUs Seta. 36^ 

tues, fo in the noble faculty of difcourfe there 
fhould be fomething extraordinary, fomcthing 
more than humanly great. 

But to clofe this long digreffion, which had 
been more regularly placed at the beginning of 
the Treatifc ; fincQ it muft be owned, that it 
is the bufinefs of art to avoid defedt and hlc- 
mllh, and almoft an impoffibility in the Sub* 
lime, always to preferve the fame majeftic air, 
the fame exalted tone, art and nature fhould 
join hands, and mutually affift one another. 

For from fuch union and alliance perfection 
muft certainly refult. 

Thefe are the decifions I have thought pro* 
per to make concerning the queftions in de- 
bate. I pretend not to fay they are abfolutely 
right ; let thofe who are willing, jmake ufe of 
their own judgment. 

• S E O 

f Dcmofthcnis feu potius Hcgefippi Orat. dc Halonefo, 
ad finem. 

(i^ The maimer in which Similes or Comparifdns iitkt 
from Metaphors^ wc cannot know from Longinus, becaufe 
of the gap which follows in the original; but they dif&r 
only in the expreffiofl. To fay that, ^ne eyes are the eyes 
of a dove^ or that, cheeh are a bed offpicesy are ftrong me^ 
taphprs i which become comparifons, if cxpreflcd thus, arg 
as the eyes of a dove^ or as a bed of fpices, Thefc two Com^ 
parifons are taken from the defcription of the beloved in the 

Song 



Sed. 38. on /i&e S o b l i m e. 151 

SECTION XXXVII. 

T O return. ( i ) Similes and Comparifons 
bear fo near an affinity to Metaphors^ as to dif-- 
fer from them only in one particular * * * 

* * * IT'he Remainder of this SeSiion is 
lofl.'] ***** 

SECTION XXXVIII. 

* * * * ^qT^e Beginning of this Sec^ 
tion on Hyperboles is lo/l.] ***** 

* * * As this Hyperbola, for inftance, is 
exceeding bad, " If you carry not your brains 

in the foles of your feet, and tread upon 
them -f*." One confideration therefore muft 
always. be attended to, " How far the thought 



CC 



^* can 



Song of Solomon (ver. 10—16.} in which there are more of 
great flrength and propriety, and an uncommon fweetneis. 

*' My beloved is fweet and ruddy, the chief among ten 
«< thoufand. His head is as the moft fine gold ; his locks 
*^ are bufliy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the 
*« eyes of a dove by the rivers of water, wafli'd with milk, 
♦< and fitly fet. His cheeks are as a bed of fpices, as fweet 
«• flowers; his lips like lilies, dropping fweet- fmelling myiyk. 
«< His hands are as gold-rings fet with the beryl : his belly 
«< is as bright as ivory over-laid with fapphire. His legs arq 

** a^ 



\ ' 



152 Long IN us Sed:.38. 

" can properly be carried." For over-fliooting 
the mark often fpoils an Hyperbole ; and 
whatever is over-ftretched, lofes its tone, and 
immediately relaxes ; nay, fometimes pro- 
jduces an efFedt contrary to that for which it 
was intended. Thus Ifocrates, childifhly am- 
bitious of faying nothing without enlarge- 
ment, has fallen into a fhameful puerility. 
The end and defign of his Panegyric ( i ) is to 
prove, that the jitboiians had done greater 
fervice to the united body of Greece y than the 
Lacedemonians*^ and this is his beginning: 
" The virtue and efficacy of eloquence is fo 

" great 

*< as pillars of marble (et upon ibckets of (ine gold. Hit 
** countenance is as Ld)anon, excellent as the cedars. His 
*^ mouth is moft fweet, yea, he is altc^ther lovely/' 

(i) Panegyric.'] This is the moft celebrated oration of 
Jfeeratesy which after ten, or, as fome fay, fifteen years 
kibour fpent upon it, begins in fo indifcreet a manner. Z#»- 
ginusy Se£t. iii. has cenfured TimauSy for a frigid parallel 
between the expedition of Alexander and Ificratesj yet Ga^ 
hriel de Petray an editor of Unginusy is guilty of the fiunc 
ftult, in making even an ekpbant more escpedititms than lior 
crates, becaufe they hreedf after y than be wrote. 

(2) The whole of this remark is curious and refined. It 

is the importance of a paifion, which qualifies the Hyp§rUU^ 

and makes that commendable, when uttered in warmth and 

vehemence,' which in coolnefs and iedatenefs would be in- 

Tupportable. So Caffius fpeaking invidioufly of Cafofy m 

order to raife the indignation of Brutui \ 

Why, 



fC 

cc 



Scd.38. o« //5^ Sublime. 153 

great, as to be able to render great things 
contemptible, to drefs up trifling fubjeSs 
in pomp and /how, to clothe what is old 
and obfolete, in a new drefs, and put off 
new occurrences in an air of antiquity/* 
^nd will it not be immediately demanded,-— 
Is this what you are going to praftife with re- 
gard to the affairs of the Athenians and La^ / 
cedemonians f -^ For this ill-timed encomium 
of eloquence is an inadvertent admonition to 
the audience, not to liften or give credit to 
what he fays. 
(2) Thofe Hyper bolh in fhort arc the beft 

(as 

Why, man, he doth beftride the narrow world 
Like a Calojfus^ and we petty men 
Walk under his hu^e legs, and peep about 
To find ourfelves difhonourable graves. 

So, again, in return to the fwelling arrogance of a bulljr^ 

To whom ? to thee ? what art thou ? have not I 
An arm as big as thine? a heart as big? 
Thy words I grant are bigger : for I wear not 
My dagger in my mouth ■ 

SbakeJ^iar*s Cymbeltne. 

Hyperboles literally are Irapoffibilities, and therefore can 
only then be feafonalde or produ£live of Sublimity, when 
the circumftances may be ftretched beyond their propn* fize, 
that they may appear without fail important and great. 

(3) The 



1^4 "^ L o N G I N u s Sed:. 38. 

(as I have before obferved of Figures) which 
have neither the appearance nor air of Hyper- 
bolh. And this never fails to be the ftate of 
tbofe^ which in the heat of a paffion flow out 
in the midft of fome grand circumftancc. 
Thus IhucydiJes has dextroufly applied me 
to his countrymen that perifhed in Sid/y * : 
^* The Syracufans (fays he) came down upon 
" them, and made a flaughter chiefly of thofe 
" who were in the river. The water was im- 
" mediately difcoloured with blood. But the 
" ftream polluted with mud and gore, de- 
** terred them not from drinking it greedily, 
^* nor many of them from fighting defpe- 
" rately for a draught of it/* A circum- 
ftance fo uncommon and aifeding gives 
thofe expreflSons of drinking mud and gore^ 
and fighting defperately for it^ an air of pro- 
bability, 

Herodotus has ufed a like HyperboU con- 
cerning thofe warriors who fell at TbermO'- 

pyla: 

(3) The author has hitherto treated of Hyperboles as con- 
ducive to Sublimity, which has nothing to do with humour 
and mirth, the peculiar province of Comedy. Here the 
incidents muft be fo over-ftretched, as to promote diverfion 
and laughter. Now what is moft abfurd and incredible, 
fometimes becomes the keeneft joke. But there is judgment 

even 



Scd:. 38. on the SvBLiu e; 155 

pyla ^ : " In this place they defended tham- 
" felves, with the weapons that were left, 
" and with their hands and teeth, till they 
** were buried under the arrows of barba- 
" rians/' Is it poffible, you will fay, for Men 
to defend themfelves with their teeth, agamft 
the fiiry and violence of armed afl&ilants ? Is 
it poflible that men could be buried under 
arrows ? Notwithftanding all this, there is a 
feeming probability in it. For the circum- 
ftance does not appear to have been fitted to 
the Hyperbole, but the Hyperbole feems to be 
the neceflary produdlion of the circumftance. 
For applying thcfe ftrong Figures, only where 
the heat of adlion, or impetuofity of paflion, 
demands them (a point I fhall never ceafe to 
infift upon) very much foftens and mitigates 
the boldnefs of too daring expreffions. (3) 
So in comedy, circumftances wholly abfurd 
and incredible pafs off very well, becaufe they 
anfwer their end, and raife a laugh. As in 

this 

even in writing abfurdities and incredibilities, otherwife in- , 
fiead of raifing the laugh, they fink below it, and give the j 
fpleen. Genius and difcretion are requifite to play the fool / 
with applaufe. 

* Thucydid. 1. 7. p. 446, cd. Oxon. 

t Herod. 1. ?• c, 225. 

(4) Deme^ 



»56 LONGINUS Scdl. 38. 

this paflage: " He was owner of a jaece of 
*' ground not fo large as (4) a LaceJemoman\ 
•* letter/" For laughter is a paffion arifingl 
from ibme inward pleafure. 

But Hyperboles equally ferve to two pur- 
poics ; they enlarge and they lejen. Stretch^ 
ing any thing beyond its natural fize is the 
property of both. And the Diafyrm (the , 
other fpecies of the Hyperbole) increafes the I 

lownefs I 

(4) Demetrius Pbalareus has commended one of thcfe 
letters, for its fententious and exprcffive concifencft, which 
has been often quoted to iiluflrate this pajfage. It is very 
well worth obfervation* The dire£iion is longer than tb^ 
letter. , * 

The Lacedemonians to Philip. 
** Dionyfius U at Corinth/* 

« 

At the time when this was written, Dhw/Jmij who for 
his tyranny had been driven out of Sicily^ taught fchool at 
Corinth, for bread. So that it was a hint to Philips not to 
proceed, as he had begun, to imitate his condud, left he 
(hould be reduced to the fame neceffitous condition. ^ 

{5) Shake/pear has made Richard III. (peak a merry Dia» 
Jyrm upon himfelf : 

I, that am rudely ftamp'd, and want love's majefty. 
To ftrut before a wanton amblhig nymph; 
i I, that am curtailM of this fair proportion, 

Cheated of feature by diflembling nature, 
Deform'd, unfiniihed, fent before my tirne^ 
Into this breathing world ; fcarce half made up. 

And 



Se^. 39. on the Sv BLiMi, i^'t 

lovmefs of any thing, or renders trifles mort 
trifling (5). • 

PART V. 

■ 

SECTION XXXIX 

W E have now, my friend, brought down 
cur enquiries to ( i ) the fifth and laft fource of 

Sublimity, 

And that, fo lamely and un&fhionably, 
That dogs bark at me, as I halt by them. 

(i) The author, in the fifth divifion, treats of C^mpofittHfj 
or fuch a Structure of the words and periods, as conduces 
moft to harmony of found. This fubj^ has been handled 
with the utmoft nicety and refinement, by the ancient 
writers, particularly Dionyjius of HaUcarnaJfus and Deme^ 
trius Phalareus, The former, iii his Treatife on the flruc- 
ture of words, has recounted the different forts of flile, has 
divided each into the periods of which it is compofed, has 
again fubdivided thofe periods into their different members^ 
thofe members into their words, thofe words into fyllablcs, 
and has even anatomized the very fyllables into letters, and 
made obfervations on the different natures and founds of the 
vowels, half-vowels, and mutes. He fhews, by inftanccs 
drawn from Horner^ Herodotus^ Thucydidesy &c. with what 
artful management, thofe great authors have fweetened and 
enobled their Compoiitions, and made their found to echo 
to the fcnfe. But a ftile, hi fays^ may be fweet without 
any grandeur, and may be grand without any fweetnefs. 
Thucydides is an example of the latter, and Xmophm of the 

former; 



J »8 . L o N G I N tj s Sed:. 39* 

Sublimity, which, according to the divifions 
premifed at firft, is the Compofition or StruSture 
of the words. And tho' I have drawn up, in 
two former treatifes, whatever obfervations I 
had made on this head, yet the prefent occa- 
fion lays me under a neceffity of making feme 
additions here. 

Harmonious Compofition has not only a 
natural tendency to pleafe and to perfuade^ but 
infpires us to a wonderful degree, with gene- 
rous ardor and paffion, (2) Fine notes in 

mufic 

former; but Herodotus has fucceeded in both, and written 
bis hiflory in the higheft perfection of flile. 

An Englijh reader would be furprifed to fee, with what 
cxadnefs they lay down rules for the feet, times, and mea- 
fures of profe as well as of verfe. This was not peculiar to 
the Greek writers, fince Cicero himfelf in his rhetorical 
works, abounds in rules of this nature for the Latin tongue. 
The works of that great orator could not have lived and 
received fuch general applaufe, had they not been laboured 
with the utmoft art; and what is really furprifing, how care- 
ful focvcr his attention was, to the length of his fyllablcs, the 
meafurc of his feet, and the modulation of his words, yet it 
has not dan^)ed the fpirit, or ftifiened the freedom of his 
thoughts. Any one of his performances, on a general fur- 
vey, appears grand and noble ; on a clofer infpedion, every 
part (hews peculiar fymmetry and grace. 

Longinus contents himfelf here with two or three general 
obfervations, having written two volumes already on this 
fubjeft. The lofs of thefe^ I fancy, will raifc no great re- 

sret 



^5eAk 39. OH tie Sv BhiME^ 

muiic have a furprifing efFeft on the paffions 
of an audience; Do they hot fill the breaft 
with inlpired Warmth, and lift up the heart 
into heavenly tranfport ? The very limbs re- 
ceive motion from the notes, and the hearer, 
tho' he has no Ikill at all in mufic, is {en-- 
able however) that all its turns make a ftrong 
imprefiion on his body and mind. The founds 

of any mufical inftrument are in themfelves 
infignificant, yet by the changes of the air^ 
riie agreement of the chords, and fymphony 

of 

gret in the hiitKl of ah Englt^ reader wH6 has little notion 
of fuch accuracies in compofition. The free language we 
fpeak, will not endure fuch refined regulations, for fear of 
incumbrance and reftraint. Harmony indeed it is capable 
of to a high degree, yet fuch as flows not from precept, but 
the genius and judgment of compofers. A good ear is worth 
i, thou&nd rules ; fince with it, the periods will be rounded 
and fweeteh'd, ^d the ftile exaltbd, fo thai: judg^ fhall com* 
inend and teach others to admire; and without it, all en'* 
deavours to gain attention (hall be vain and inefieAual, un« 
iefs where the grandeur of the fenfe will atone for rough 
and unharmonious expireffioh. 

(2) tn this paflage- two mufical inftrumcfits are men- . 
tiohed, avkU ^d >ti9*p« > but sis what b (aid of them in 
the Greekj will not fuit with the modern notions of a pip^ 
and an harpy I hope, I Iball not be blamed for, dropping 
thofe words, and keeping tbtfit remarks in a general applica* 
tion to mufic. 



59 



(J) Tant^ 



/ 



/ 




i6o LoNGiNUS ^e£t. 39. 

of the parts, they give extraordinary plcafure, 
las we daily experience, to the minds of an 
■audience. Yet thefe arc only fpurious images 
land faint imitations of the perfuafiyc voice of 
man, and far from the genuine efFeits and 
operations of human nature. 

What an opinioa therefore may Wc juflly 
form of ^ne Compojitiony the effcdt of (3) that 
harmony, which nature has implanted in the I 
voice of man ? It is made up of words, which I 
by no means die upon the ear. but fink 
within, 'and reach the underftanding. And 
then, does it not infpire us with fine ideas 
of fentiments and things, of beauty and of 
order, qualities of the fame date and exiftence 
with our fouls ? Does it not^ by an el^ant 
flru£hire and marfhalling of founds, convey 
the paflions of the fpeaker into the breafts of 
his audience? Then, does it not ieize their 
attention, and by framing an edifice of wcnrds 
to fuit the fublimity of thoughts, delight, 
and tranfport, and raife thofe ideas of dig- 
nity and grandeur, which it fhares itfelf^ and 
was deiigaed, by the afcendent it gains upon 

the 

(3) Tanta obkaatio eft in ipfa facilitate dicendi, ut niha 
hominum aut auribus aut mentibus jucundius percipi poffit. 
Quis enim cantu» moderata orationis pronunciatione dulcior 



Sed. 39* t)n the ^xjnttut. i6i 

the inind^ to excite in others ? But It is &Ily 
to endeavour to prove what all the world W4II 
allow to be true. For experience is an indif- 
putable conviction 4 

That fentiment feems very Ipftyj and juflrly 
dcfcrves admiration, which Demqftbenes icp- 
mediately fubjoins to the decree *j Two t9 

mrcL^7\heiif iTooKTBpy £<nr$g t^eipas. ** This very 
" decree fcattered, like a vapour, the danger, 
" which at that time hung hovering over the 
*' city/'t Yet the fentiment itfelf is not more 
to be admired, than the harmony of the pe-* 
riod. It confifts throughout of Da£JyIia, the 
fineft n^eafure, an4 inoi): conducing to Sub« 
lirnity^ And hence are they admitted into 
h^roip verfe^ univerially allowed to be the 
moil: noble of all But ifor further i^ti^a&ionj 
only tranfpofe a word or two, juft as you 
pleafej T«To TO 4^^^/wj ftXTTff H^iy tirolim 
froV toTg TtivS^vvov to-ajgAGft/ or take away a fyl- 
lable^ iTTolfiae «raggA9«v <as vitpoiy and you will 
quickly difcern how much harmony confpires 
with Sublimity« In &9ir$^ pb^^ the firft Word 

moves 

inveniri potefi? quod oLtmen artiliciofii rerborupi conclu-* 
jiope aptius ? Cicero de oratorio /• ii. 

* Orat. de corona^ p. 1 1 4* ed. Oxoii^ 

O a (0 So 



,1 

j 



i62 L o N G I N ti s Sed«40« 

moves along in a (lately meafure of four timeSf 
and when one fyllable is taken away, as 
cJ$ vB(p()Sy the fubtradtion maims the Subli- 
mity. So on the other fide, if you lengthen 
it, 'BTX^sX^eiv eToaitreyy wnre^ei ve(pos, the (enfe 
indeed is ftill preferved, but the cadence is 
entirely loft. For the grandeur of the period 
languifheth and relaxeth, when enfeebkd by 
the ftrefs that muft be laid upon the addi* 
tional fyllable. 

SECTION XL/ 

BUT amongft other methods^ an apt Con^ 
nexion of the parts conduces as much to the 
aggrandizing difcourfe (i) as fymmetry in 
the members of the body to a majeftic mien. 
If they are taken apart, each fingle member 
will have no beauty or grandeur, but when 
skilfully knit together, they produce what is 

called 

In wit, as nature, what TScSts our hearts 
Is not th^ exaAnefs of peculiar parts ; 
'Tis not a h'p or cheek we beauty call. 
But the joint force and full refult of all. 

Ejfaj on Criticifmm 
(2)Cdm- 



Sed.40. on /yS^ Sublime. 163 

called a fine perfon. So the conftituent parts 
of noble periods, when rent afunder and di- 
vided, in the ad: of divifion fly off and lofe 
their Sublimity 5 but when united into one 
body, and aflTociated together by the bond of 
harmony, they join to promote their own 
elevation, and by their union and multipli- 
city beftow a more emphatical turn upon every 
period. Thus fevcral poets, and other writers; 
poffeflfcd of iio natural Sublimity, or rather 
entire ftrangers to it, have very frequently 
made ufe of common and vulgar terms, that 
have not the leaft air of elegance to recom- 
mend them, yet by mufically dlfpofing and 
artfully conneding fuch terms, they clothe 
their periods in a kind of pomp and exal- 
tation, and dextroufly conceal their intrinfic 
lownefs. 

Many writers have fucceeded by this me- 
thod, but efpecially (2) Pbilifius^ as alfo Ari^ 

fiophanes^ 

m 

(2) Commentators difFer about this Philiflus. Some affirm 
it fliould be Philifcusy who, according to J)acier, . wrote co- 
medy, but according to Tolliusj tragedy. ^inMian (whom 
Dr. Pearce follows) mentions Philijius 2l Syracufarij tl great 
fevourite of Dionyfius the tyrant, whofe hiftory he wrote 
after the manner of TImcydidesy but with the fmcerity of a 
courtien 

O 3 (3) Z^'*«* 






Sj^ LoN6iNi;s Sefl. 40^ 

JlophaneSy in fome paflages, and Euripides in 
very many. Thus Hercules^ after the murder 
of his children, cries *, 

Troubles fo numerous fill my trouded mind> 

That not one more can hope a place to find. 

• 

The words are very vulgar, but their turn 
anfvirering fo exadlly to the fenfc, gives the 
period an exalted air. And if you tratifpoie 
them into any othet order, you will quickly 
be convinced, that Euripides excels more in 
fine compofition than in fine fentiments. So 
in his defcription of (3) Dirce dragged ^ong 
ty the bull. 

Whene'er the mad'mng creature rag*d j^bou^ 

And 

(3) 2$thus and Amphion tied their motherrin-law Dira 
by the hair of her head to a wild bull, which itsoigt Euri" 
fides has reprefented in this pailage, Langbmne obferves« that 
there is ^ fine fculpture on this fubjed, by Taurijius, in the 
palace of Farnefe at Rome^ of which Bapti/la de CawxlUriii 
has giwn us a print in /. iii. p. 3. antiq* Jlatuarum urbis 

There is a much greater Imags than this in the Paradife 
Ltjjly B» vi. 644. vif'xth which this remark of Le^grnus on 
the fedat^ grandeur and judicious paufes will exactly fquare: 

From their foundations loosening to and fro. 
They pluck'd the feat^ hills, with all their load. 
Rocks, waters, woods; and by the fhaggy tops 
yp-lifting bf)T^ them in their hands— -^ 



V 

6^ 



Se<9:. 4^' ^* *^ Sublime. 165 

And whirled his bulk around in aukward circles. 
The dame, the oak, the rock were dragged along. 

The thought itfclf ia noble, but is more 
enobled, becaufe the terms ufed in it are har- 
monious, and neither run too haftily off the 
ear, nor are . as it were mechanically acceie- 
rated* They are difpofed into due paufes, 
mutually Supporting one another ; thefe paufes 
are all ,of a flow and ftately meafure, fe- 
dately mounting to iblid and fubflantial 
grandeur* > 

SEC T I O N XLI. 

■ • • 

NOTHllSrG fo much debafes Sublimity, 

as 

. * • • • ■ 

So again in Book.ii, ver. 557.— when the fallen fpiritt 
are engaged iA 4^;pnd abftrufe refearchos, concerning fate, 
free-will, foreknowledge, the very ftrudure of the words 
exprelles the intricacy of the difcburfe ; and the repetition of. 
fome of the words, with epithets of (low pronunciation^ 
(tews the difficulty of making advancements, in fuch un^ 
fathomable points. ^ . 

Others apart fat on a hill retirM, 
In thoughts more elevate, and reafon'd high 
Of providence, fore-knowledge, will, and fete, 
Fixt fate, free- will, fore-knowledge abfolutc ; 
And found no end in wandring mazes loft. 

* Euripid. Hercules furens, ver, 1 250. ed. Barnes, 

O4 (i)A 



^^ 



j66 L o N G I N u s Se(3:. 41, 

as broken and precipitate Meafures, fuch as 
( 1 ) PyrricSy T^rocbees^ and Dichorees^ that are 
fit for nothing but dances. Periods tuned in 
thefe numbers, are indeed neat and brisk, 
but devoid of paffion 5 and their cadence be-^ 
ing eternally the fame, becomes very difagrec- 
able. But what is ftill worfe, as in fbngs 
the notes divert the mind firom the fenie, 
and make us attentive only to the mufic ; fo 
thefe brisk and rhyming periods never raife 
in the audience any pa^Iion fuitablc to the 
fubjed, but only an attention to the ran of 
the words. Hence, forefeeing the places where 
they piuft neceflarily reft, they have geflures 
anfwering to every turn, can even beat the 
time, and tell beforehand, as exadtly as in ^ 
dance, where the paufe will be. 

In like manner. Periods forced into too 
narrow copipafs, and pent up in words of 
|hort and few fyllables, of that are Z9 it were 
nailed together in an aukward and clumfy 
fanner, are always deftitute of grandeur. 



8 E C. 

ff ) A Pyrrtc is a foot of M» fliort fyllables; a Trochee of 
fN# long and one fliort 3 and a Dkbon^ is a double Trocba. 



Sed. 43. 9fi //&5 S D B L I M E. 167 

» 

SECTION XLII. 

CONTRACTION of StUc is another 
great diminution of Sublimity, Grandeur rc-^ 
quires room» and when under too much 
confinement, cannot move fo freely as it 
ought. I do not mean here Periods, that dc^ 
mand a proper concifenefs ; but on the con- 
trary, thofe ' that are curtailed and minced. 
Too much Contra^ion lay^ a reftraint upon 
the fenfe, but Concifenefs ftrengthens and ad- 
jufts it. And 00 the other fide, it is evident^ 
that, when periods are fpun out into a vaft ex- 
tent^ their life and fpirit evaporate, and all 
their ftrength is loft| by being ^uitc over-^ 
ftretched, 

SECTION XLin. 

LOW and fordid words arc terrible ble-^ 
mifhes to fine fentimeiits. Thofe of Hero-- 
dotusj in his defcription of a tempeft, are di- 
vinely noble, but the terms, in which they 
are expreiled, very much tarnifli and impair 
their luflre, TJius when he fays *, ". The 

^[ fca$ 

• Hcrod.l. 7,c. i}j, 



i68 L o N G I N u s Se(a.43. 

" feas began (i) to fceth," how does the 
uncouth found of the word feeth^ leflen the 
grandeur ? And further, '' The wind (lays 
" he) was tired out, and thofc who were 
'* wreck'd in the ftorm, ended their lives 
*' very difagreeably/' To be tired mt^ is a 
mean and vulgar term; and that, difagreea- 
bfyy a word highly difproportioned to the tra- 
gical event "it is ufed to cxprefs. 

(z) Tbeopompus, in like manner, , after fet- 
ling out fplendidly in defcribing the Perfian 
expedition info Egypt j has fpoiled all, by the 
intermixture of ibme low and trivial ^ords* 
" What city or what nation was there in ail 
*^ Afia^ which did not compliment the king 
" with an embaffy? What rarity was there 
" either of the produce of the earth, or 
" the work of art, with which he was 
" not prefented? How many rich and gor- 
^* geous car|)ct8, with veftments purple, white, 
^' and particoloured? How many tents erf 

*' golden 

{\) To feeth.'] I have chofen thrs word rather than iw7, 
which is not a Uemiflied term in our language: and beikles, 
fieth refcmbfes more the Greek word l^ivtlffm in the ill found 
that it has upon the palate, which is the fault that Longinus 
finds with the word in Herodotus, Milton has fomething of 
the like fort which ofiends the ear, when we read in Book i. 

Aza- 



I 



cc 
cc 



Se<9:.43* on the S u 8 l i M e. 169 

" golden texture, fuitably furnifhed with all 
" neccffarfes ? How many embroidered robes 
^' and fumptuous beds, befides an immenfe 
quantity of wrought filvel- and gold, cups 
and goblets, fome of which you might 
fee adorned With precious ftoHes, and others 
embelliflhed with moft ezquifite art and 
coftly workmanfliip ? Add to thefe in- 
" numerable forts of arms, Grecian and Bar-* 
*' bariun^ beafts of burden beyond computa- 
^^ tic»i, and cattle fit to form the moft luxu*- 
** rious repafts. Ami further, how many 
*^ buihels of pickles and preferved fruits? 
*^ How many hampers, packs of paper, and 
<* books, and all things befides, that neceffity 
♦* or convenience could require? In a word, 
*' there was fo great abundance of all fortt 
*^ of fleih ready falted, that when put to- • 
<* gcther, they fwell'd to prodigious heights, 
" and were regarded by perfons at a dif- 
^^ tance, a$ fo many mountains or hillocks 

[' piled 

A^zel, as his righty &c. 

(2) Theopompus was a Chian and a fcholar of Ifocrates. 
His genius was too hot and impetuous, which was the occa- 
fion of a remark of his mafier Ifocrates^ that ^< Epborus al- 
^* W^ya wanted a fpur, but Theopompus a curb,** 

(3) Qua 



170 LoNGiNus Se6t. 43. 

" piled one upon another." He has here 
, funk from a proper elevation of his fenfe to 
a fhamefiil lownefs, at that very inftant, ^hen 
his fubjedl required an enlargement. And 
befides, by his confufed mixture of baJkeU^ 
of pickles^ and of pach^ in the narrative of 
io grwd preparations, he has (hifted the fcene, 
and prefented us with a kitchen. If upon 
making preparation for any grand expedition, 
any one (hould bring and throw down a 
parcel of hampers and packSy in the midft of 
mafly goblets adorned with ineftimable flones, 
or of filver cmboffed, and tents of golden 
fluffs, what an unfeemly fpeftacje would fiich 
a gallimawfry prefent to the eye! It is the 
fame with defcription, in which theife low 
terms, unfeafonably applied, become fo many 
• blemifhes and flaws. 

Now he might have fatisfied himfelf with 
giving, only a fummary account of thofc 
mountains (as he fays they were thought) of 
provifions, and when he came to other parti* 
culars of the preparations, might have varied 
his narration thus : ^^ There was a great mul- 

" titude 

* Zcnoph, *Air$/txrii/!/«r, 1. 2« p. 45. edit. Oxon, 
(3) Qs^ partes autem corporis, ad naturae neceffitatem 
dat^9 adfpefhim efTent deformem habiturse ac turpcnif eas 

con- 



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Bed. 43. on the SuBLiuu. 171 

** titude of camels and other bcafts, loaden 
*^ with all forts of meat requifite either for 

fatiety or delicacy : *' or have termed them, 
" heaps of all forts of viands, that would 
^* ferve as well to form an exfluifite repaft, a$ 
*^ to gratify the niceft palate ;" or rather, to 
comply with his humour of relating things 
exaftly, " all that caterers and cooks could 
*^ prepare, as nice and delicate/' 

In the Sublime, we ought never to take up 
with fordid and blemijhed terms, unleft reduced 
to it by the moft urgent neceffity. The 
dignity of our words ought always to be pro- 
portion'd to the dignity of our fentiments. 

Here we ftiould imitate the proceeding of 
nature in the human fabric, who has neither 
placed thofe parts, which it is indecent t6 
mention, nor the vents of the excrements, 
in open view, but concealed them as much 
as is poffible, and '^ removed their channels 
** (to make ufe oi Xenophojfs words *) to the 
^^ greateft diftance from the eyes," thereby to 
preferve the beauty of the animal entire and 
unblemifhed (3). 

To 

contexit atquc abdidit. Cicar9 d$ Offlc. p. 6i, 62. E£ti 
Cockman, 

(0 W0 



72 LoNGiNOS Se<fL444 

To parfue this topic further, by a particular 
/' recital of whatever diminifhes and impairs the 
Sublime^ would be a needlefs tafk. We have 
already (hewn what methods elevate and enoble, 
and it is obvioiis to every one that their op^ 
fofites mufl lower and debafe it. 

SECTION XLIV, 

SOMETHING yet remains to be faid, 
whichj becaufe it fuits well with your inqui'' 
fitive difpofition, I fhall not be averfe to en- 
large upon. It is not long fince a philolbpher 
of my acquaintance difcourfed me in the fol^ 
lowing manner. 

It is (faid he) to me, as well as to many 
others, a juil: matter of furprife, how it j 
comes to pafs, that in the age we live, there 
are many genius's well^pradtifed in thie arts 
of eloquence and perfuafion, that can dif- 

courfe with dexterity and ftrength, and em* 

belli(h their ftile in a very gracefid ma&ner^ 

^ but none (or fo few, that they are next to 



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" none 



(i) IFe were born infuhjeSflon^ix.c,'''—^ The words in the 
^iginal vetil'ofj^^L^Sf /vXMf J^iKdtlttt are differently inter- 
preted, by perfons of great learning and fagacity. Madam 
Dader has taken oc^oa to mention them in her notetf 

upon 



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Sed:. 44. o;i //6^ S y b l i m e^ 173 

none) who may be faid to be truly great 
and fublime. The fcarcity of fuch writers 
is general throughout the world. May we 

believe at laft, that there is folidity in that 
trite obfcrvation, That democracy is the 
nurfe of true genius ; that fine writers will 
be found only in this fort of government, 
with which they flourifli and triumph, or ' 
decline and die ? Liberty, it is faid, pro- ; ♦ 
duces fine fcntiments in men of genius ; it 
invigorates their hopes, excites an honoura- 1 
ble emulation, and infpires an ambition and ; 
** thirft of excelling. And what is more, in \ 
'* fi-ec ftates there are prizes to be gained, 
** which are worth difputing. So that by this 
** means, the natural faculties of the orators 
are fliarpen'd and poliih'd by continual 
pradice, and the liberty of their thoughts, 
** as it is reafdnable to expe<9:, fhines confpi- 
«' cuoufly out, in the liberty of their debates. 
But for our parts, (purfued he) (i) we 
were born in fubjedlion, in lawful fubjedion, 
** it is true, to arbitrary government. Hence, 

'' the 

upon Terence. Her words are thefe : " In the laft chapter 
** of Longinu5<y ^eti<f^ofjiet6ei( S^^KMi ^^iKtuetu fignifics not, 
«' we are from our infancy ufed to a lawful government^ but 
•« to an eafy^ govn'nmfnt, chargeable with neither tyranny 

•* nor 



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1^4 LoNGlNUs Se<9:. 44* 

*^ the prevailing manners made too ftrong an 
** impreffion on our infant minds, and the 
" infedtion was fucked in with the milk of 
our nurfes. We have never tafied liberty^ 
that copious and fertile fource of all that | 
is beautiful and of all that is great, and 
hence are we nothing but pompous flatte- 
rers. It is j&om hence, that we may fee all 
other qualifications difplayed to perfeftioDj 



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«* noi* violence.'* Dr. Peafce is of a quite tontmry opinion. 
** The word J^tKOdA (fays he) does not fignify mUd or eajj/f 
«* as fome think, hut ju^ and lawful vajfalage^ when kin^ 
«« and rulers are poflefled of a full power and authority over 
«« their fubjcfts ; and we find Ifocraies ufes i^-x} J^tKoJct, (a 
^ «« dcfpotiqd government) in this fenfe.** The Doflor theft 
gives his opinion, that *< Longinus added this word, as well 
<( as fome which follow, that his afiedlion to the Roman 
«' emperor might not be fufperfted.*' 

I have chofen to tranflate thefe Wpfds in the tatter fenfc, 
which (with fubmilBon to the judgment of fo learned a lady) 
feems preferable to, and more natural than that» which 
Madam Dacier has given it. The critic (in the perfon of 
the philofopher, who fpeaks here) is accounting for the 
fcarcity of fublime writers; and avers democracy to be the 
xiurfe of genius, and the greateft encourager of Sublimity* 
Th^ feft is evident from the republics of Greece and Rome, 
In Greece^ Athens was moft democratical, and a ftate of the 
greatefl liberty. And hence it was, that^ according to the 
obfervation of Paterculus (/. i, near the end) " Eloquence 
<< fkuriOied in greater force and plenty in that city alone, 
*< than in all Grew befides; infomucb that (fays he) tho"* 

•* the 



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Secffc, 44. ou the Sublime. 175 

in the minds of flaves ; but never yet did 
a flave become an orator. His fpirit being 
efFedually broke, the timorous vaffal will 
ftill be uppcrmoft 5 the habit of fubjedion 
continually overawes and beats down his 
genius. For, according to Homer ^^ 

Jove fix*d it certain, that whatever day 
Makes man a flave, takes half his worth away. 

Mr. Pope. 

" Thus 

** the bodies of the people were di^perfed into other cities, 
« yet you would think their genius to have been pent up 
** within the bare precinfts of Athem.^^ Pindar the Thebariy 
as he afterwards owns, is the only exception to this remark. 
So the city of Rome was not only the feat of liberty and 
empire, but of true wit and exalted genius. The Roman 
power indeed out-lived the Roman liberty, but wit and ge- 
nius could not long furvive it. What a high value ought 
we then to fet upon liberty, fince without it, nothing 
great or fuitable to the dignity of human nature, can 
poffibly be produced! Slavery is the fetter of the tongue, 
the chain of the mind, as v/ell as the body. It embitters 
lifcy fours and corrupts the paifions, damps the towering 
faculties implanted within us, and ftifies in the birth the 
feeds of every thing that is amiable, generous, and noble* 
Reafon and Freedom are our own, and given to continue fa. 
We are to ufe, but cannot refign them^ without rebelling 
againft him who gave them. The invaders of either ought 
to be refitted by the united force of all men, fince they in- 
croach on the privileges we receive from God, and travcrfe 
the defigns of infinite goodnefs. 

• Odyfli ?• ver. 322. 

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176 LoNCiNus Sed. 44. 

Thus I have heard (if what I have heard 
in this cafe may deferve credit) that the 
cafes in which dwarfs are kept, not only 
prevent the future growth of thofe who are 
inclofed in them, but diminifh what bulk 
' *^ they already have, by too clofe conftri<aion 
of their parts. So flavery, be it never fo 
eafy, yet is flavery ftill, and may defervcdly 
be called, the prifon of the foul, and the 
public dungeon." 

Here I interrupted. " Such complaints, as 
yours again ft the prefent times, are generally 
heard, and cafily made. But are you fure, 
that this corruption of genius is not owing to 
the profound peace, which reigns through- 
out the world ? or rather, does it not flow 
from the war within us, and the fad efFefts 
of our own tiu'bulent paffions ? Thofe paf- 
fions plunge us into the worft of flavcries, 
and tyrannically drag us wherever they 
pleafe. Avarice (that difeafe, of which the 
" whole world is fick beyond a cure) aided 
" by voluptuoufnefs, holds us faft in chains 
** of thraldom, or rather, if I may fo exprefs 
" it, overwhelms life itfclf, as well as all that 
live, in the depths of mifery. For love of 
money is the difeafe, which renders us 
moft abjeft -, and love of pleafurc. is that, 

" which 



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Sed. 44t d?;^ //^^ S u B L I M B. i ^^ 

" which renders us moft corrupts I have in 
** deed thought much upon it, but after all 
*^ judge it impoffible for the purfuers, or, to 
fpeak more truly, the adorers and wor- 
(hippers of immenfe riches, to prefervc their 
fouls from the infedion of thofe vices, which 
are firmly allied to theni. For profufe^ 
nefs will be, wherever there is affluence* 
They are firmly link'd together, andconftant 
attendants upon one another. Wealth un- . 
bars the gates of cities, and opens the doors . 
of houfes : Profufenefs gets in at the fame 
time, and there they jointly fix their refi* , 
** dence. After fome continuance in their 
new eftablifhment, they build their nefts (in i 
the language of philofophy) and propagate 
** their fpccies. There they hatch arrogance^ 
*^ pride, and luxury, no fpurious brood, but 
" their genuine offspring. If thefe children of 
*^ wealth be foftered and fufFered to reach ma** 
** turity, they quickly engender the moft in* 
•^ exorabie tyrants, and make the foul groan 
under the oppreffions of infolencc, injuftice, 
and the moft fear'd and hardened impudence. 
" When men are thus fallen, what I have 
** mentioned muft needs refult from their de- 
" pravity. They can no longer endure a fight 
*' of any thing above their grovling felves; and 

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1^8 L o N G I N u s Sed. 44. 

^ as for reputation, they regard it not When 
" once fuch corraption infedls an age, it gra- 
dually fpreads, and becomes univerfal. The 
faculties of the foul will then grow ftupid, 
their fpirit will be loft, and good fenfe and 
genius muft lie in ruins, when the care and 
ftudy of man is engaged about the mortal 
the worthlefs part of himfelf, and he has 
ccafed to cultivate virtucj and polifh his no- 
bler part, the foul. 

** A corrupt and diflioneft judge is incapable 
" of making unbiafTed and folid decifions by 
** the rules of equity and honour. His habit 
" of corruption unavoidably prevents what is 
** right and juft, from appearing right and juft 
•* to him. Since then, the whole tenor of 
" life is guided only by the rule of intereft, to 
** promote which, we even defire the death of 
^ others, to enjoy their fortunes, after hav- 
iJ^g* ^y bafe and difingenuous pradtices, 
crept into their wills; and fince, we fre- 
quently hazard our lives for a little pelf, the 
mifcrable (laves of our own avarice ; can we 
expeft, in fuch a general corruption, fo con- 
tagious a depravity, to find one generous 

'' and 

( m cmi wm» tc tte PaJuMs^ &c.— ] The Uanuii world 
ought ccruinly to be condoled with, on the great lofs they 
have luftwned, in Lts^9m'% Titatifc oo the PaJ^. The 



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Scd. 44. on the Sublime. 179 

*' and impartial foul, above the fordid viev/s 
" of avarice, and clear of every felfifh p.. - 
** fion, that may diftinguifh what is truly 
** great, what works are fit to live for ever? 
*^ Is it not better, for perfons in our fituation, 
" tofubmit to the yoke of government, rather 
" than continue mafters of themfelves, fincc 
" fuch headftrong paffions, when fet at liberty, 
*^ would rage like madmen, who have bur ft 
" their prifons, and inflame the whole world 
" with endlefs diforders? In a word, an 
" infenfibility to whatever is truly great has 
" been the bane of every rifing genius of the 
" prefent age. Hence life in general (for the 
*' exceptions are exceeding few) is thrown 
'^ away in indolence and floth. In this deadly 
" lethargy, or even any brighter intervals 
" of the difeafe, our faint endeavours aim 
" at nothing but pleafure and empty oftenta- 
" tion, too weak and languid for thofe high 
" acquifitions, which take their rife from noble 
" emulation, and end in real advantage and 
" fubftantial glory/' 

Here perhaps it may be proper to drop this 
fubjedl, aiKi purfue our bufinefs. (2) We come 

now 

excellence of this on the Sublime^ makes us regret the more 
the lofs of the other, and infpires us with deep refentments 
of th^'irreparab^ depredations committed on learning and 

the 



1 80 L ON G I N u s. Sedi:. 44, 

now to the PaJJionSy an account of which I 
have promifed before in a diftindl treatife, fince 

they not only conftitute the ornaments and 
beauties of difcourfe, but (if I am not miftaken) 
have a great fhare in the Sublime. 

the valuable produAions of antiquity^ by Goths^ and mbnksi 
and time. There^ in all probability, we ftould have bdield 
the fecret fprings and movements of the foul difdofed to 
view. 7here we fhould have been taught, if rule and ob- 
fervation in this cafe can teach, to elevate an audience into 
joy, or melt them into tears. Then we Ihould have learned, 
if ever^ to work upon every paffion, to put every heart, 
every pulfe in emotion. At prefent we mufl fit down con- 
tented under the lofs, and be fatisfied with this invaluable 
Piece on the Sublime^ which with much hazard has efcaped 
a wreck, and gained a port, tho' not undamaged. Great 
indeed are the commendations, which the judicious beftow 
upon //, but not in the leaft difproportioned to its merit.- For 
in it are treafured up the laws and precepts of fine writing, 
and a fine tafie. Here are the rules, which polifli the writer's 
invention, and refine the critic's judgment. Here is an ob- 
ject propofed at once for our admiration and imitation. 

Dr. Pearci^ advice will be a feafonable conclufion» ** Read 
** over very frequently this golden treatife (which deferves 
'* not only to be read but imitated) that you may hence 
*' underftand, not only how the bed authors have written, 
«< but learn yourfelf to become an author of the firft rank. 
«< Read it therefore and digeft it, then take up your pen in 
•' the words of FirgiFs Nifus ; 

— — Aliquid jamdudum invadere magnum 
Mens agitat mihi, nee placid^ contenta quiete eft. 



FINIS. 




:?«^'^- 



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